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view the cases. The men wrote a letter to Johnson earlier this year asking that the U.S. Attorney reopen the cases. Last month, the two provided a list of 39 cases that they feel have gone unsolved or not sufficiently prosecuted. • While the majority of the cases are from the 1970s -- when the murder rate on Pine Ridge was the highest in the nation -- there are three cases from the 1990s, including the deaths of Poor Bear's brother, Wilson Black Elk, and cousin, Ron Hard Heart. Their bodies were found in 1999 on reservation land just across the border from Whiteclay, Neb. • "I really feel that U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson came with a sincere heart and a concern about these uninvestigated deaths," Poor Bear said, adding that the families simply want closure. "It gave them hope that one day they will find closure." •
(Continued on page 22)
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