Rosebud Indian Reservation

Last updated
Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation
Sicangu Oyate (Lakota)
Indian reservation
Flag of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.png
Flag
3235R Rosebud Indian Reservation Locator Map.svg
Location in South Dakota
TribeRosebud Sioux Tribe
Country United States
State South Dakota
Counties Gregory
Lyman
Mellette
Todd (all)
Tripp
Established1889
Headquarters Rosebud
Government
[1]
 • BodyRosebud Sioux Tribal Council
 • PresidentWilliam Kindle
 • Vice-PresidentScott Herman
 • TreasurerLouise “Wayne” Boyd
 • SecretaryNicole Marshall
Area
 • Total
5,103.214 km2 (1,970.362 sq mi)
Population
 (2017) [2]
 • Total
11,354
 • Density2.2/km2 (5.8/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
Website rosebudsiouxtribe-nsn.gov

The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name Sicangu Oyate translates as the "Burnt Thigh Nation", also known by the French term, the Brulé Sioux.

Contents

The Rosebud Indian Reservation was established in 1889 after the United States' partition of the Great Sioux Reservation, which was created by the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868). The Great Sioux Reservation had covered all of West River, South Dakota (the area west of the Missouri River), as well as part of northern Nebraska and eastern Montana. Since its founding, the Rosebud reservation has been reduced considerably in size, as has happened with the other Lakota and Dakota reservations. Now, it includes Todd County, South Dakota, and certain communities and lands in the four adjacent counties.

Geography and population

The Rosebud Indian Reservation is located in south central South Dakota. It includes within its recognized border all of Todd County, an unincorporated county of South Dakota. The Oyate also have communities and extensive lands and populations in the four adjacent counties, which were once within the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST) boundaries: Tripp, Lyman, Mellette, and Gregory counties, all in South Dakota. Mellette County, especially, has extensive off-reservation trust land, comprising 33.35 percent of its land area. Some 40.23 percent of the Sicangu Oyate population lives here.

The total land area of the reservation and its trust lands is 1,970.362 sq mi (5,103.214 km2) with a population of 10,469 in the 2000 census. [3] The main reservation (Todd County) has a land area of 1,388.124 sq mi (3,595.225 km2) and a population of 9,050. The RIR is bounded on the south by Cherry County, Nebraska, on the west by the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, on the north by the White River, and originally, on the east by the Missouri River.

The Oyate capital is the unincorporated town of Rosebud where the tribal headquarters is located. It was established when the Spotted Tail Indian Agency territory extended to the banks of Rosebud Creek near its confluence with the Little White River. It was previously located in northwestern Nebraska.

The largest town on the reservation is Mission, served by the intersections of US Highways 18 and 83. Mission's near neighbor of Antelope is one of the many tribal band communities established in the late 1870s. Another major town in the reservation is Saint Francis, located southwest of Rosebud. Saint Francis, with a current population of about 469 (2020 census)., [4] is the largest incorporated town in South Dakota without a state highway for access.[ citation needed ]

Located on the Great Plains, just north of the Nebraska Sandhills, Rosebud Indian Reservation has large areas of Ponderosa Pine forest scattered in its grasslands. Deep valleys are defined by steep hills and ravines, often with lakes dotting the deeper valleys.

Economy and services

Major employers include Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Todd County School District. The RST owns and operates Rosebud Casino on U.S. Route 83 just north of the Nebraska border. Nearby is a fuel plaza, featuring truck parking and a convenience store. Power for the casino is furnished in part by one of the nation's first tribally owned wind turbines, which generate electricity. In the early 21st century, the tribe built a new residential development, Sicangu Village, along Highway 83 near the casino and the state line.

The Tribe also owns QCredit, an online financial services company. The Tribe works with financial technology vendor Think Finance for assistance with compliance management, risk management, and loan services. [5]

Like numerous other Native American tribes, the Rosebud government decided to legalize alcohol sales on the reservation. It found that many residents went off reservation to buy alcohol in nearby towns. By legalizing the sale, the tribe can use sales taxes and other revenues generated for the welfare and health of the tribe. It can directly police and regulate the use of alcohol on the reservation in an effort to reduce abuses, and has established health programs for treatment.

The Wolakota Buffalo Range is a nearly 28,000-acre native grassland (11,000 ha) for a bison herd on the reservation. The Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO), the economic arm of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, is managing the land. [6] Established in 2020, the herd will help develop ecological restoration, cultural practices, economic development, food security and public education. [7]

Government

Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST) re-established self-government. It adopted a constitution and bylaws, to take back many responsibilities for internal management from the BIA. It followed the model of elected government: president, vice-president, and representative council, adopted by many Native American nations. At the time and since then, many tribal members opposed the elected government, preferring their traditional form of hereditary clan chiefs selected for life, contingent on approval by women elders, and a tribal council that operated by consensus.[ citation needed ]

Both women and male elders have continued to have influence within the nation, particularly among those who have followed more traditional lives. At times political factions have developed and continued along ethnic and cultural lines, with full-blood Sioux following traditional ways. Others, sometimes of mixed-blood or having had more urban or European-American experiences, support the elected government. Enrolled members living on reservation number 21,245. The RST population is estimated at 25,000 (2005).[ citation needed ]

The short two-year terms of office can make it difficult for elected tribal officials to carry out projects over the long term. In addition, BIA officials and police retain roles on the reservations, which the historian Akim Reinhardt calls a form of "indirect colonialism". [8]

Elections

Council meetings

Education

The tribe has developed Sinte Gleska University on the reservation. The tribal university is named after the 19th-century Sioux war chief and statesman, whose name in English was Spotted Tail.

Media

The Sun-Times is the only news outlet to cover political news on the reservation, along with police, court and community news. An economic decline forced the paper to cut back to a monthly edition in 2010. [10]

Notable tribal members and residents


In United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians , 448 U.S. 371 (1980), the people of the Rosebud Sioux Reservation joined the Oglala Lakota and other Sioux nations in suing the federal government in a land claim for its taking of the Black Hills in the late 19th century. In 1980 the case was heard by the United States Supreme Court, which agreed with the nations that the US had acted illegally in 1877. The US government offered financial compensation, which the Sioux have refused. They still demand the return of the land to their nation. The compensation fund is earning interest and has increased in value.

The tribe has suffered from terrible conditions at the IHS hospital. Because the IHS did not maintain standards, in November 2015 the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said it would no longer reimburse for services at the ER, as conditions were so poor. The ER was closed. For seven months, citizens on the reservation had no access to ER services. Five babies were born in ambulances en route to the nearest hospitals -50 miles away- and nine people died during emergency transport to other health facilities. CMS announced on July 14, 2016, that the emergency department would re-open the next day. [17]

On April 28, 2016, members of the Rosebud Indian Reservation announced they were suing the federal government for its closure of the only emergency room on its reservation, which is operated by Indian Health Services. The ER was closed because of conditions so poor that Medicaid (CMS) would not reimburse for its services. The ER had been closed for nearly five months, leaving people on the reservation without services. They have to travel 50 miles to reach another hospital. [18] The emergency department was re-opened after seven months on July 15, 2016.

While in Congress before 2018, former Representative Kristi Noem (R-South Dakota), now governor of South Dakota, authored legislation to improve conditions and staff at IHS facilities. She testified before Congress to gain support for the legislation. [17]

In December 2020, the Jesuits returned 525 acres (212 ha) to the reservation. The scattered pieces had been given to them in the 1890s for religious use. [19]

Communities

The Rosebud Sioux Reservation has 20 communities represented on its tribal council:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakota people</span> Indigenous people of the Great Plains

The Lakota are a Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux, they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (Wičhíyena). Their current lands are in North and South Dakota. They speak Lakȟótiyapi—the Lakota language, the westernmost of three closely related languages that belong to the Siouan language family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sioux</span> Native American and First Nations ethnic groups

The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples. Collectively, they are the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, or "Seven Council Fires". The term "Sioux", an exonym from a French transcription of the Ojibwe term Nadowessi, can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or to any of the nation's many language dialects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mellette County, South Dakota</span> County in South Dakota, United States

Mellette County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,918. Its county seat is White River. The county was created in 1909, and was organized in 1911. It was named for Arthur C. Mellette, the last Governor of the Dakota Territory and the first Governor of the state of South Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bennett County, South Dakota</span> County in South Dakota, United States

Bennett County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,381. Its county seat is Martin. Bennett County was removed from the Pine Ridge Reservation by an act of Congress in 1911, much of Bennett County however is still held in trust by the Reservation. To the east is the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where dwell the Sicangu Oyate, also known the Upper Brulé Sioux Nation and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST), a branch of the Lakota people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission, South Dakota</span> City in South Dakota, United States

Mission is a city on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in northern Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,156 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosebud, South Dakota</span> CDP in South Dakota, United States

Rosebud also Sicanġu is a census-designated place (CDP) in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,455 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiteclay, Nebraska</span> Census-designated place in Nebraska, United States

Whiteclay is a census-designated place in Sheridan County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 10 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakota language</span> Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes

Lakota, also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. Lakota is mutually intelligible with the two dialects of the Dakota language, especially Western Dakota, and is one of the three major varieties of the Sioux language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sicangu</span> Traditional tribal grouping within the Lakota people

The Sicangu are one of the seven oyates, nations or council fires, of Lakota people, an Indigenous people of the Northern Plains. Today, many Sicangu people are enrolled citizens of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation and Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Sioux Reservation</span> Former Indian reservation in the United States

The Great Sioux Reservation was an Indian reservation created by the United States through treaty with the Sioux, principally the Lakota, who dominated the territory before its establishment. In the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, the reservation included lands west of the Missouri River in South Dakota and Nebraska, including all of present-day western South Dakota. The treaty also provided rights to roam and hunt in contiguous areas of North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and northeast Colorado.

Joseph M. Marshall III son of Joseph Nelson Marshall Sr. and Hazel Lorraine Two Hawk-Marshall, is a historian, writer, teacher, craftsman, administrator, actor, and public speaker. He was a founding board member in 1971 of Sinte Gleska University, the tribal college at the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Shell</span> Brulé Sioux chief

Iron Shell was a Brulé Sioux chief. He initially became prominent after an 1843 raid on the Pawnee, and became sub-chief of the Brulé under Little Thunder. He became chief of the Brulé Orphan Band during the Powder River War of 1866-1868.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Reifel</span> Native American politician

Benjamin Reifel, also known as Lone Feather, was a Lakota Sioux public administrator and politician. He had a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, retiring as area administrator. He ran for the US Congress from the East River region of South Dakota, and was elected as the first Lakota to serve in the House of Representatives. He served five terms as a Republican United States Congressman from the First District, from 1961 to 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oglala</span> Traditional tribal grouping within the Lakota people

The Oglala are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Brule Indian Reservation</span> Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States

The Lower Brule Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation that belongs to the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. It is located on the west bank of the Missouri River in Lyman and Stanley counties in central South Dakota in the United States. It is adjacent to the Crow Creek Indian Reservation on the east bank of the river. The Lower Brule Sioux are members of the Sicangu, one of the bands of the Lakota people. Tribal headquarters is in Lower Brule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinte Gleska University</span> American Indian tribal college

Sinte Gleska University (SGU) is a public tribal land-grant university in Mission, South Dakota, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. It is a Brulé Lakota Indian Reservation home to the Sicangu. SGU has an enrollment of 828 full and part-time students. It is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Francis Mission</span> United States historic place

St. Francis Mission is a Roman Catholic mission complex on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in St. Francis, South Dakota, in territory of the Lakota (Sioux) Native Americans. The mission was founded in 1886 by priests of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), who were welcomed by Bishop Martin Marty of the Diocese of Saint Cloud, Minnesota, which extended to this territory at the time. The Jesuit order soon developed a large complex to serve the Lakota at this reservation. Most of the buildings were destroyed by a fire in 1916, but many were soon rebuilt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert White Hat</span>

Albert White Hat was a teacher of the Lakota language, and an activist for Sičháŋǧu Lakȟóta traditional culture. He translated the Lakota language for Hollywood movies, including the 1990 movie Dances with Wolves, and created a modern Lakota orthography and textbook.

The Wolakota Buffalo Range is a nearly 28,000-acre native grassland (11,000 ha) for a bison herd on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, home of the federally recognized Sicangu Oyate – also known as Sicangu Lakota, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, a branch of the Lakota people. The Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO), the economic arm of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, is managing the land. Established in 2020, the herd will help develop ecological restoration, cultural practices, economic development, food security and public education. Wolakota involves public and private partners coming together in support of native-led efforts. Bison is the correct taxonomic term but buffalo is the common vernacular term. Buffalo continues to hold a lot of cultural significance, particularly for Indigenous people and is commonly used.

Lionel Raphael Bordeaux was a Sicangu Lakota educator, advocate, and president of Sinte Gleska University (SGU) from 1973 until his death in 2022. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving college or university president in the United States. During his time as university president, SGU became the first tribal university in the United States, and became the first tribal higher learning institution to achieve both bachelor's and master's degree accreditation.

References

  1. ↑ "Tribal Council" . Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  2. ↑ 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. "My Tribal Area". United States Census Bureau.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Rosebud Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, South Dakota . United States Census Bureau.
  4. ↑ "U.S. Census Bureau: St. Francis town, South Dakota". www.census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions | Q Credit". www.qcredit.com. Archived from the original on 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  6. ↑ DiLonardo, Mary Jo (October 28, 2021). "Dozens of Bison Released on Tribal Land in South Dakota". Treehugger. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  7. ↑ French, Brett (February 12, 2021). "American Prairie Reserve donates bison to South Dakota tribes". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  8. ↑ Ruling Pine Ridge: Oglala Lakota Politics from the IRA to Wounded Knee, Texas Tech University Press, 2007
  9. ↑ "About the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center", Official website; accessed 16 July 2016
  10. ↑ Interviews: SST Chief Editor PR Gregg-Bear, SST Business Manager Nancy Brooks, RST Finance Officer James Wike, RST President William Kindle, RST Council Rep. Calvin "Hawkeye" Waln, Newsstand: AllStop Grocery Store owner Wes Colombe, Rosebud, South Dakota; Buche Foods Mission Manager Mike Husman, Mission, South Dakota
  11. ↑ "Susan L. Allen | Jacobson Law Group". www.thejacobsonlawgroup.com. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  12. ↑ "Native American Heritage Month: S.F. gallery director wins praise for breaking with past" [ permanent dead link ], San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Nov 1995 (retrieved 20 Dec 2009)
  13. ↑ "Robert (Bob) Barker - South Dakota's Indian Census Roll April 1, 1930" . Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  14. ↑ "1921 Indian Census: Rosebud Reservation, Ponca District, South Dakota". FamilySearch . Washington, D. C.: National Archives and Records Administration. June 30, 1921. p. 11. NARA microfilm series 595, roll #435, lines 4300–4301. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  15. ↑ Langston, Donna Hightower (Spring 2003). "American Indian Women's Activism in the 1960s and 1970s". Hypatia . 18 (2). New York, New York: Wiley: 114–132. doi:10.1111/j.1527-2001.2003.tb00806.x. ISSN   0887-5367. JSTOR   3811016. S2CID   144308066.
  16. ↑ Roger L. Di Silvestro, The Shadow of Wounded Knee: The Untold Final Story of the Indian Wars, p. 203
  17. 1 2 Tanya H. Lee, " 'Where you can legally kill Indians': Winnebago treasurer on IHS hospitals" Archived 2016-07-17 at the Wayback Machine , Indian Country News, 15 July 2016; accessed 16 July 2016
  18. ↑ "South Dakota Tribe Sues Feds for ER Closure", ABC News, 28 April 2016
  19. ↑ Jesuits to return 525 acres of South Dakota land to Rosebud Sioux Tribe White Wolf Pack

Further reading

43°17′40″N100°39′22″W / 43.29444°N 100.65611°W / 43.29444; -100.65611

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.