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• Federal law requires that Native American children removed from homes be placed with relatives or with other Native American families, except in unusual circumstances. Tribal officials contend South Dakota removes too many American Indian children from their homes and then puts them in foster care with non-Indian families.
• The lawsuit alleges that when children are removed from a home based on accusations of neglect or abuse, parents aren't given a proper hearing to determine whether a child should be kept away longer. Many Native Americans who leave the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Indian reservations move to Pennington County, which is home to Rapid City, and the lawsuit seeks class-action status for all Native American parents and custodians who are members of federally recognized tribes there.
• The lawsuit contends that hearings are sometimes as short as 60 seconds and parents aren't given the chance to introduce evidence showing their ability to care for the child or to question the state.
• "If South Dakota officials would have the kind of hearing that is required by federal law, many of the Indian children who are being taken away from their parents would be returned," said Stephen Pevar, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's Racial Justice Program working with the tribes on the case.
• The plaintiffs are seeking an order directing state officials to provide "adequate" and "meaningful" hearings.
• The removal of Native American children in South Dakota has been an ongoing issue, and tribal and federal leaders are planning a summit to discuss foster care in the state. State officials have acknowledged that a disproportionate number of Native American children are involved in the child welfare system. But they said that is because they receive more referrals for alleged abuse involving Native American children, leading to more investigations and removals of children from homes.
• The lawsuit names as defendants Department of Social Services Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon, Department of Social Services employee LuAnn Van Hunnik, Pennington County State's Attorney Mark Vargo and 7th Judicial Circuit Court Presiding Judge Jeff Davis.
• Vargo did not immediately return messages seeking comment. A representative for the Department of Social Services said the agency has not received any information about the lawsuit and did not have a comment. Davis also said he could not comment.
• Bryan Brewer, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said more than half of the children removed from homes in Pennington County are members of his tribe.
• Brewer said that while tribal members realize children sometimes need to be re

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