EAGLE BUTTE, S.D. (AP) — The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has taken down the coronavirus checkpoints on its South Dakota reservation that had become a point of contention between the tribe and Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and the Trump administration.
Cheyenne River spokesman Remi Bald Eagle says the tribal council made the decision to take down the nine checkpoints because of declining infection rates and the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines on the reservation.
The tribe is also hoping to work with President Joe Biden’s new Bureau of Indian Affairs staff to maintain control over its police department after the Trump administration sent a letter in December 2020 saying the agency would begin managing the department.
