Standing Rock council votes to banish meth, heroin dealers

FORT YATES, N.D. (AP) — The council of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has voted to banish and exclude any adult found to be selling methamphetamine, heroin and other drugs on the reservation that straddles the Dakotas' border.

The tribal council on Wednesday said the decision "did not come overnight." Instead, the council says it came after months of deliberations and reports from members on "the horrors that are committed against Standing Rock citizens while people are under the influence" of drugs.

The tribe is still developing the process that would lead to the banishment of offenders.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota earlier this month moved to dis-enroll and banish for life anyone convicted of dealing meth on the reservation. Two years ago, North Dakota's Three Affiliated Tribes approved a similar resolution.