Rosebud Sioux Reservation

Rosebud Sioux Reservation
Helping the Rosebud Sioux Tribe revitalize its culture and economy
  • Population
    26,000 in 2020
  • EDA Investment
    $50,000 annually
    $150,000 in 2020

On a sunny October morning, dozens of buffalo transported from Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota were released into a growing herd managed by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

Kids pressed against the pen’s metal fences as the buffalo—first one at a time, then all at once—ran out, shaking the ground as they joined what is now the largest Native-owned buffalo herd in the world.

Buffalo stand in their enclosure on a frosty morning at sunrise

The Wolakota Buffalo Range aims to bring the buffalo back to the people of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe—to reconnect with a time when buffalo were integral to their ancestors’ way of life. Tribal leaders hope that, as these kids grow up, they eventually take the lead in managing the herd, which could serve as both a food source for citizens and an economic development opportunity for the Native nation.

Children from the Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Lakota Immersion School perform a buffalo dance together

Weaving Lakota values into all aspects of economic development planning is critical to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. With the help of an ongoing planning partnership with EDA, the Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO, now known as Sicangu Co), the Tribe’s economic development arm, is leveraging the reservation’s wealth of resources—in both people and land—to revitalize the local economy and help Tribal members reconnect with their culture.

The Rosebud Reservation encompasses around 900,000 acres in what is now known as southern South Dakota. More than 26,000 citizens of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, or, as they prefer to be called in their native language, the Sicangu Lakota Oyate, live among 20 communities scattered across the sprawling reservation.

The sandy hills of the reservation at sunrise

The current reservation sits on a fraction of the millions of acres that originally comprised the Great Sioux Nation. Residents are isolated from large metro areas and services, with the closest major airport 200 miles away and the drive to the reservation’s three grocery stores and one major hospital sometimes taking hours.

80%

With few job opportunities and limited educational attainment on the reservation, unemployment and diabetes rates are high, while incomes and average life expectancies are low. And of the limited income residents do take in, 80 percent leaves the reservation because it lacks so many basic amenities, depriving the Tribe of a major source of revenue.

Lettuce seeds sprout in planting trays in a greenhouse
Chickens and ducks mingle in a shared enclosed pen

REDCO is trying to tackle those challenges and bring an economic resurgence to the reservation. With its partner organization Sicangu CDC, REDCO has created a Food Sovereignty Initiative and farmers’ markets to promote healthy eating...

A schematic landscape of where houses and community buildings will be placed in a future development
People wearing masks look at watermelons, pumpkins, and squash on the back of a truck at a farmers' market

During the COVID-19 pandemic, REDCO’s economic development efforts, and its partnership with EDA, became even more critical. In 2020, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe was one of a couple dozen tribes to receive a CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grant from EDA to help their community respond to the pandemic.

A green truck that has "food sovereignty" painted on the side

Through the grant, REDCO aims to develop an agriculture plan that maps out how the Tribe could become more self-sufficient during crises and how to take advantage of their land to build toward food independence.

A portrait of Michael LaPointe in front of a tree with yellow leaves

EDA’s ongoing planning investments have helped fund local expertise and capacity, ensuring that people like Michael LaPointe, the economic development specialist for REDCO and a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, can figure out how to achieve full employment on the reservation.

Shane Red Hawk works at his daughter's coffee cart

“It’s cheaper to fund jobs than have people live in a welfare state and live in terrible health care scenarios,” LaPointe said. “It’s my goal to pursue the development of providing jobs for 11,510 Rosebud Sioux Tribal members within a five-year period. We do that, we end poverty here.”

Credits

Story by Emily Peiffer, Urban Institute

Images (in order of appearance):

  • Video by Emily Peiffer for the Urban Institute
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute
  • Image courtesy of Rosebud Economic Development Corporation
  • Image courtesy of Rosebud Economic Development Corporation
  • Image courtesy of Rosebud Economic Development Corporation
  • Image courtesy of Rosebud Economic Development Corporation
  • Image courtesy of Rosebud Economic Development Corporation
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute
  • Photo by Rhiannon Newman for the Urban Institute