BIA Closes Pine Ridge Jail

The Bureau of Indian Affairs closed down the jail at Pine Ridge Thursday, saying it was unsafe for inmates and staff, the Associated Press reports. Prisoners were transferred to a newer facility operated by the tribe. Tribal officials said they received little notice that the BIA planned to close the jail. Last Thursday, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., released a draft study on the state of BIA jails. “The report confirms what so many in Indian Country have known all along—the tribal justice system is unbelievably broken,” Dorgan said in a statement announcing the release of the report.