Service [Strives To] Provide Legal Help to Indians

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Jessica Hinsley, who lives on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, was going through a divorce while working full time and attending college when a tribal judge took her year-old daughter away. The girl had been hurt in a fall at a day care center. Hinsley didn't know where to turn, until she hooked up with an attorney from Dakota Plains Legal Services. . . .

[M]any Indian reservations across the nation have a shortage of lawyers, which is especially troubling in civil matters not covered by court-appointed attorneys or public defenders.

And while Indians need legal help in state and federal courts, one of the greatest needs is in tribal court, where many people represent themselves without hiring a lawyer, said Ron Hutchinson, executive director of Dakota Plains. . . .

"The bottom line here is we don't have the resources to help everyone who needs help. We don't even come close," Hutchinson said.

What can you do to help? Find out at the Dakota Plains Legal Services website. Details here from the AP via the New York Times.