Tribal leaders left disappointed after the House State Affairs Committee defeated two measures requested by the tribes by sending both to the 41st day, effectively killing them, on Wednesday night.

In an 8-5 vote, the committee defeated House Concurrent Resolution 6002 to support the repeal of the federal Dakota Removal Act of 1863 that banished the tribes from Minnesota onto reservations in South Dakota.

It also defeated House Bill 1194, which would have included the tribes among the government entities eligible to be reimbursed from the state's Pipeline Engagement Activity Coordination Expenses Fund, created in Gov. Kristi Noem's riot boosting legislation last year to collect damages to pay for extraordinary costs associated with pipeline protests.

More:South Dakota tribes asked for money to help police protests. Lawmakers said no.

Tribes were especially disappointed in the defeat of the resolution supporting the Dakota Removal Act's repeal, which they see as a symbolic move toward reconciliation of the state’s past. This was the second consecutive legislative session where lawmakers failed to pass a resolution supporting its repeal.

"It becomes disheartening. You're trying to build bridges with them," Thompson said.

Derrick Marks, the youngest Yankton tribal councilor, said the younger generation is becoming more educated about Native American and American history. Legislators have the opportunity now to change the narrative that students read about in their textbooks, he said.

"The children ... have a chance to see there was a turning point, there was actions made to try to make things right and try to see reconciliation with Native Americans, but that was squashed today," Marks said.

History of the Dakota Removal Act

The war between the Dakota people and settlers in Minnesota leading up to the Dakota Removal Act began when a government agent withheld provisions from tribal members, and they attacked the warehouse where the provisions were held.

In addition to the Dakota Removal Act, it resulted in the hanging of 38 Dakota men in 1862, plus two more men who were hanged for it in 1865.

Native Americans engaged in the war for their survival, and that resulted in their expulsion from the states to a territory, which was done after "bad acts on both sides," said Ross Garelick Bell, a lobbyist for the Yankton and Crow Creek Sioux tribes.

The House resolution didn't include an apology and included language that the law's repeal won't affect any property rights that resulted from the Dakota Removal Act in 1863, Bell said. Thompson called the law "outdated and hurtful" and a majority of tribes support its repeal.

"We can't unwrite history. History is history. It's in our past, but we can start looking at rewriting our future," he said.

Disagreement between tribes

However, Rep. Tamara St. John, R-Sisseton, opposed the resolution. It's not a bad resolution, but there's a lack of consensus among the tribes about it, she said. Some tribes have questions about it, and some believe the acreage included in the 1863 act should be given to the tribes, according to St. John. If the tribes fully embraced its repeal, the room would be filled with tribal members, she said.

To illustrate her point, the committee heard from Upper Sioux Chairman Kevin Jensvold in Minnesota, who said the resolution doesn’t go far enough. He said he wants an acknowledgement that it was genocide and compensation to make the tribes whole.

Rep. Tim Goodwin, R-Rapid City, said the disagreement between the tribes is proof legislators should kill the resolution.

Thompson told the committee that legislators don’t need to be in full agreement for a bill to move forward, and the tribes don’t all need to be in agreement for the resolution to move forward. A majority of the tribes support the resolution, he said. The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association’s letter supporting the resolution was handed out to the committee.

Bordeaux said afterward that the tribal opposition gave the committee "cover" to oppose it.

"We got to see divide and conquer at its best and, unfortunately, this is one where our own people have sabotaged our effort here," Bordeaux said.