South Dakota tribe loses bid to stop government from collecting millions in misspent education funds

Lower Brule Tribe argued the Bureau of Indian Affairs was attempting to over collect on dollars diverted from schools

A South Dakota Indian tribe that misspent more than $3.6 million in federal funds cannot block the government from collecting those dollars, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a decision by Judge Roberto Lange, the chief judge for the United States District Court District of South Dakota. Lange last year dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe against the U.S. Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and various federal officials.

At issue was the result of a yearly audit conducted on education funds the tribe received through the Tribally Controlled Schools Act. That act allows tribes to enter into self-determination contracts with the government to operate schools using federal funds, rather than the federal government operating the schools.