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In the 1880’s, the Tribes of the Great Sioux Nation signed treaties with the United States establishing the boundaries of the Tribes and recognized their rights as a sovereign government. The Sioux Tribes consist of the Seven Original Council Fires, one of which is known as the Lakota. The Sicangu (Rosebud) people are from that Council Fire. The Rosebud Sioux Tribal lands were originally reduced to a reservation by the U.S. Congress in the Act of March 2, 1889 which identified all the Lakota/Dakota /Nakota reservations in what is known as the Great Sioux Settlement. The boundaries were further reduced by subsequent Homestead Acts. The Sicangu people were moved five times before the Rosebud agency was finally established. Previous agencies were locted on the Whetstone Agency near the Missouri River, White River Agency along the Big White River, Spotted Tail Agency at Rosebud Creek, and the Ponca Agency located near the west bank. The Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux) have the status of a sovereign nation which gives them the right to elect their own officials, regulate their own territory, manage tribal affairs, and create and enforce their own tribal laws. The Tribal governments maintain jurisdiction within the boundaries of the reservation including all rights-of-way, waterways, watercourses and streams running through any part of the reservation and to such others lands as may hereafter be added to the reservation under the laws of the United States. The Tribal government operates under a constitution consistent with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and approved by the Tribal membership and Tribal Council of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Harold Ickes, the Secretary of the Interior of the United States approved the constitution and the by-laws on December 20, 1935. The Tribal Council consists of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, a Sargent-At-Arms, and twenty additional Council members that are elected by the Tribal members. The Rosebud Sioux Reservation is located in south central South Dakota and borders the Pine Ridge Reservation on its northwest corner and the State of Nebraska border to the south. The reservation is located in Todd County, however, the Rosebud Service Unit includes Gregory, Mellette, Todd, Lyman and Tripp Counties in South Dakota. The Reservation has a total area of 922,759 acres (1,442 sq. mi.) whereas the Unit covers some 5,961 sq. mi. The Tribal headquarters is located in Rosebud, SD. There are twenty communities within the Reservation including Ideal, Winner, Butte Creek, Okreek, Antelope, Ring Thunder, Soldier Creek, St. Francis (Owl Bonnet), Spring Creek, Two Strike, Grass Mountain, Upper Cut Meat, Swift Bear, Parmelee,, Rosebud, Black Pipe, He Dog, Corn Creek, Horse Creek, Bull Creek, & Milks Camp. Tribal Enrollment Statistics The Rosebud
Sioux Tribe Enrollment Office has the authority to assign identification
numbers to applicants who have been approved for membership
with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. The Abstract of Census Records and the
BIA Form 4432 are issued by request. The Enrollment Office takes care
of certifying all school Johnson-O’Malley Program forms and other
forms of verification needed by tribal programs and/or non-tribal programs,
colleges and entities. Labor The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sinte Gleska University, Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Todd County School District, St. Francis Indian School and the Indian Health Service provide the majority of employment. The major economic occupation on the Rosebud Reservation is cattle ranching and farming for a number of Tribal members. The second largest employer is the Rosebud Sioux Tribe through the provision of administrative and other services and through Tribally operated schools. Sinte Gleska University is also a large employer, as well as the Rosebud Casino. The Tribe also operates a Tribal Ranch, a hunting program for small game, big game, and waterfowl. Commercial business by private operators include convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, laundromats, auto repair shops, a video arcade/fast food shop, and arts and handcrafts, and other service and commercial vendors. The unemployment rate is 85%. The per capita personal income for Todd County in 1995 ranked 66th out of 66 counties in the State. A 1999 U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Labor Force Report indicated that there were 22,870 tribal members with a total of 19,440 eligible for services, 6,804 under the age of 16, 11,132 are between the ages of 16-64, 1,504 over the age of 64, 8,084 are not available for work, with a total work force of 3,048. There were 2,009 employed, and 1,039 unemployed with an unemployment rate of 34%. The report indicates that there are 1,607 who are employed of which 80% are still under the poverty guidelines. * It is important to look at the 11,132 tribal members that are between the ages of 16 to 64 and the 8,084 tribal members that are not available for work and the 3,048 individuals that are available for work. The report states that this total estimates the number of individuals who were over the age of 16 and who were included in a tribe’s service population, but because of personal circumstances were not able to assume or sustain gainful employment. These 8,084 tribal members are not counted in the unemployment rate of 34%. Should these 8,084 individuals be available for work then you would have 11,132 individuals available for work for an unemployment rate. The tribe estimates that 11,132 are available for work, with an actual 82% unemployment rate.
An Overall Economic Development Plan (OEDP) was prepared for the Tribe in October 1998. That plan was an outgrowth of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s preparation of the Round II Rural Empowerment Zone Application. The OEDP strategic vision was to shift the present economic system from a predominantly grant and aid based economy to a sustainable business sector economy. Roads & Highways The road system in the Rosebud Reservation includes Highway 18 east and west through the middle of the reservation to a junction with Highway 83 which bisects the Rosebud on a north to south line the entire width of the reservation. Other roads include BIA Roads running each direction connecting roads in the interior of the Reservation. All weather hard top roads service most of the communities on the reservation, however, isolated communities are serviced by gravel roads. As a result most homes on the reservation are inaccessible during periods of blizzards or heavy rain. Approximately 76% of the people on the reservation have access to an automobile. Transportation There are no commercial land or air transportation serving the reservation. The Greyhound Bus services are found in Winner, Phillip and Pierre, South Dakota. A 2,000 foot asphalt runway is located in the center of the reservation at Mission for charter aircraft flights. The nearest commercial airline services are located in Pierre, South Dakota about 100 miles north of Rosebud, South Dakota, Rapid City, SD which is about 190 miles west and Sioux Falls, SD which is approximately 265 miles to the east. Climate The climate is harsh. The average rainfall is 16-17 inches during the summer season, while the snowfall averages from moderate too heavy in the winter. The area can experience occasional droughts in the summer and severe blizzards in the winter. The temperature in the winter can be 30 degrees below zero with a 25 degrees above zero average. The average temperature in the summer is 80 degrees but will range from 69 degrees to 110 degrees from June to August. As a result the growing season lasts only three months, June to August. The wind averages 18 mph per day annually. Water Surface waters resources, though valuable and widely distributed are undependable because of scanty and erratic precipitation. Shallow groundwater is not obtainable on most of the Rosebud Reservation, and where it is found, it is often of poor quality. Artesian water from deep bedrock aquifers underlies all of the reservation. These aquifers are not highly developed sources of water because of the high-to-very-high salinity and other mineral content. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe is included in the Mni Wiconi Water Project that is in the final planning and early construction stage. This project has been described as one of the largest water resources projects in the world. The project will provide water from the Missouri River near Ft. Pierre, SD to the Indian communities on the Rosebud Reservation, as well as the Lower Brule and Pine Ridge Reservations and several non-Indian communities in Lyman and Jones Counties. This system is now under construction with completion expected in eight years. The future of this project is in question, however. The president’s fiscal year 2004 budget cuts $34 million or 80 percent from the Mni Wiconi and other water projects in South Dakota. Some have indicated that this will place Mni Wiconi in jeopardy or in the least add millions of dollars to the actual cost of the project as those costs increase in future years, and delay the project’s completion. Topography The topography of the reservation consists of rolling hills, woodlands, river valleys, stock dams, and lakes. The following is a summary of the major land uses found within the reservation:
Historically, the Sicangu Lakota were warriors, hunters and were expert horsemen and buffalo hunters. The native flora and fauna are still very important to the Rosebud Sioux. The Tribe has endorsed a plan to reintroduce buffalo to the Great Plains. The Tribe is working with the Great Plains Restoration Council to map out the first steps in developing a “Buffalo Commons”. In addition, there is a proposal to reintroduce the Black-Footed Ferret on the Tribal lands of the Rosebud Sioux. The reintroduction is intended to reestablish the prairie ecosystem and the predator-prey relationship between ferrets and prairie dogs. Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Reservation received a $20,000 grant from NASA to investigate potential changes in the Great Plains due to climatic changes. The program will try to determine if changes to vegetation and the prairie ecosystem have taken place or if they are currently taking place.
In 1997, Tribal environmental staff identified the primary environmental problem facing the Tribe was groundwater contamination from hydrocarbons, arsenic, and nitrates is deteriorating the drinking water quality at two communities on the reservation. Title 19 of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law and Order Code address environmental protection. Communications Golden West Telecommunications provides telephone service to the reservation.
Cherry Todd and LaCreek Electric Cooperatives provide electric utility
services. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe has completed the construction of
the first wind-power turbine on American Indian land. It is the beginning
of what is expected to be a 50-megawatt wind farm on three locations
on the Rosebud reservation. It is interconnected through the Cherry
Todd Electric Cooperative. The Cherry Todd Electric Cooperative has
the highest CO2 per MWh emitting utility systems in the U.S., Basin
Electric Power Cooperative -- due to the high level of coal-fired generation
that it normally relies upon. The wind-power turbine will maximize
the environmental benefits by reducing the amount of CO2 emissions
for each kWh of wind energy generated. The initial turbine is located
adjacent to a developed commercial area that includes a hotel and a
small casino, both owned and operated by the Tribe. Housing The Rosebud Housing Authority manages over 1000 housing units in the district communities and on rural sites scattered throughout the reservation. Funding for these programs are through HUD Low Rent and Mutual Help home ownership housing programs. Other housing is available through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service for their employees. Privately owned housing is limited. Services Some of the Services provided by the Tribe include: Health Care The Indian Health Service provides health care at the Health Center
Hospital and Clinic. The Tribal Health Department provides a number
of health services including: The Ambulance Service provides emergency health care service to all areas of the reservation. Conclusion The Rosebud Sioux Tribe desires to continue progress in the development of increased self-sufficiency. This includes developing natural and cultural resources to preserve traditions and educate Tribal members and non-members, and strengthen the economy on the reservation. The Nation wants to maintain its culture and, at the same time, develop new economic opportunities for our future generations. Sources: Rosebud Sioux
Tribe – Overall Economic Development Plan- 1999
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