Author's Biography
Darrel Smith...
...ranches near Mobridge, South Dakota on the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Indian Reservations. He's a third generation reservation resident and one of over three hundred and seventy thousand non-Indians living on Indian reservations in this country. His grandparents moved to the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in the mid 1920's. Both grandparents were farming when his parents met and were married in the early thirties. His parents bought the present ranch in 1946, shortly after Darrel was born. During his life on the reservation, Darrel has seen and personally experienced the problems and devastation caused by our current reservation system.
Darrel has testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in Washington, DC. He has also testified numerous times before state Senate and House Committees and a State/Tribal Study Committee in South Dakota. He has been involved with an Indian/White reconciliation process conducted by the Rural Ethnic Institute. Darrel has drawn from his own personal experiences, as well as the personal experiences and expertise of many Indian people, activists, historians, attorneys and jurists, while writing this booklet.
Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA)...
... is the only multiracial, national, "grass roots" organization dedicated to promoting equal rights and dignity for both Indians and non-Indians in reservation areas. Since its inception in 1988 CERA has been working with Indians and non-Indians to study and inform the citizens of our country about our Federal Government's failed Indian policies. The present system does nothing but promote an American version of apartheid. These policies hurt all of us, and especially American Indians, far more than most people realize. In this booklet, Darrel Smith, a C.E.R.A. board member, explains some of the devastating effects of federal Indian policy.
The Citizens Equal Rights Alliance has been holding their annual meeting in Washington,
DC in June. Members participate in panel discussions and meetings with other organizations
and Congressional policy makers. If you are concerned about our Federal Government's
misguided and destructive policies toward Indians, then please join us. We also invite you
to our meetings in Washington, DC to help create a better future for reservation areas.