Rosebud Indian Reservation
Encyclopedia
The Rosebud Indian Reservation (RIR) is an Indian reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the home of the federally recognized Sicangu Oyate
Brulé
The Brulé are one of the seven branches or bands of the Teton Lakota Sioux American Indian nation. They are known as Sičháŋǧu Oyáte , or "Burnt Thighs Nation," and so, were called Brulé by the French...
, also known as Sicangu Lakota, the Upper Brulé Sioux Nation, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST), a branch of the Lakota people. Sicangu Oyate translates from Lakota
Lakota language
Lakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. While generally taught and considered by speakers as a separate language, Lakota is mutually understandable with the other two languages , and is considered by most linguists one of the three major varieties of the Sioux...
to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as "Burnt Thigh Nation"; it is sometimes translated via French as "Brulé Sioux".
The Rosebud Indian Reservation was established in 1889 by the partition of the Great Sioux Reservation
Great Sioux reservation
The Great Sioux Reservation was established in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, and includes all of modern western South Dakota and modern Boyd County, Nebraska...
. Created in 1868 by the Treaty of Fort Laramie
Treaty of Fort Laramie
Treaty of Fort Laramie may refer to:*Treaty of Fort Laramie *Treaty of Fort Laramie...
, the Great Sioux Reservation originally covered all of West River, South Dakota (the area west of the Missouri River), as well as part of northern Nebraska and eastern Montana. The reservation includes all of Todd County, South Dakota and communities and lands in the four adjacent counties, which had at one time been part of the reservation.
Geography and population
The RIR is located in south central South Dakota, and presently includes within its recognized border all of Todd County, an unincorporated county of South Dakota. However, the Oyate also has communities and extensive lands and populations in the four adjacent counties, which were once inside the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST) boundaries: TrippTripp County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,430 people, 2,550 households, and 1,721 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile . There were 3,036 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile...
, Lyman
Lyman County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,895 people, 1,400 households, and 1,009 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile . There were 1,636 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile...
, Mellette
Mellette County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,083 people, 694 households, and 498 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile . There were 824 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile...
, and Gregory
Gregory County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,792 people, 2,022 households, and 1,290 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile . There were 2,405 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile...
Counties, all in South Dakota. Mellette County, especially, has extensive off-reservation trust land, comprising 33.35 percent of its land area, where 40.23 percent of the population lives.
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
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. 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
Cherry County, Nebraska
Cherry County is unusual in being split between two time zones, Mountain Time and Central Time. The lines between the two runs roughly north to south along the eastern third of the county. Cherry County is also the location of the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, the Fort Niobrara National...
, on the west by the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is an Oglala Sioux Native American reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was established in 1889 in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border...
, on the north by the White River
White River (South Dakota)
The White River is a Missouri River tributary that flows through the U.S. states of Nebraska and South Dakota. The name stems from the water's white-gray color, a function of eroded sand, clay, and volcanic ash carried by the river...
, and originally, on the east by the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
.
The Oyate capital is the unincorporated town of Rosebud
Rosebud, South Dakota
Rosebud is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,587 at the 2010 census.Rosebud, located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, is the home to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Headquarters...
, established when the Spotted Tail
Spotted Tail
Siŋté Glešká was a Brulé Lakota tribal chief. Although a great warrior in his youth, and having taken part in the Grattan massacre, he declined to participate in Red Cloud's War, having become convinced of the pointlessness of opposing the white incursions into his homeland; he became a...
Indian Agency (named after the 19th-century war chief, whose Lakota name was Sinte Gleska) was moved from northwestern Nebraska to the banks of Rosebud Creek near its confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
with the Little White River
Little White River
The Little White River is a tributary of the White River, approximately long, in south central South Dakota in the United States....
. The largest town on the reservation is Mission
Mission, South Dakota
Mission is a city in Todd County, South Dakota, United States, and the Rosebud Indian Reservation. The population was 1,182 at the 2010 census....
located at the intersections of US Highways 18 and 83. Mission's near neighbor of Antelope
Antelope, South Dakota
Antelope is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 826 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
is one of the many tribal band communities established in the late 1870s and growing since then. Other major towns in the reservation are Saint Francis
St. Francis, South Dakota
St. Francis is a town on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 709 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
, located southwest of Rosebud and the home of Saint Francis Indian School, a private Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
institution first established as a mission
Mission
Mission may refer to:* Mission , variety of grape* Mission , base of missionary practice* Mission statement, a formal short written statement of an organization's value proposition...
school. Saint Francis, with a current population of about 2000, is the largest incorporated town in South Dakota without a state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
for access.
Located on the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, just north of the Nebraska Sandhills, Rosebud Indian Reservation has large areas of Ponderosa Pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
forest scattered in its grasslands. Deep valleys are defined by steep hills and ravines, often with lakes dotting the deeper valleys.
Economy and services
The RST has the tribally owned and operated Rosebud Casino, located on U.S. Route 83U.S. Route 83
U.S. Route 83 is one of the longest north–south U.S. Highways in the United States, at . Only four other north–south routes are longer: U.S. Routes 1, 41, 59 and 87. The highway's northern terminus is north of Westhope, North Dakota, at the Canadian border, where it continues as...
just north of the Nebraska border. Nearby is a fuel plaza, featuring truck parking and a convenience store, while power for the casino is furnished in part by one of the nation's first tribally owned electricity-generating wind turbines. A new Indian residential community is being built just to the north.
The RST population is estimated at 25,000 (2005). It is supported by the Oyate administration and agencies, as well as the BIA Rosebud Agency, Todd County School District, Saint Francis Indian School, the Rosebud Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service is an Operating Division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . IHS is responsible for providing medical and public health services to members of federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Natives...
Hospital, and Sinte Gleska University
Sinte Gleska University
Sinte Gleska University is a four-year private American Indian tribal college, located in Mission, South Dakota, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, a Brulé Lakota Indian Reservation...
. The university is named after the 19th-century Sioux war chief and statesman, whose name in English was Spotted Tail
Spotted Tail
Siŋté Glešká was a Brulé Lakota tribal chief. Although a great warrior in his youth, and having taken part in the Grattan massacre, he declined to participate in Red Cloud's War, having become convinced of the pointlessness of opposing the white incursions into his homeland; he became a...
.
General information
- Land Area: 882416 acres (3,571 km²)
- Tribal headquarters: Rosebud, South DakotaRosebud, South DakotaRosebud is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,587 at the 2010 census.Rosebud, located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, is the home to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Headquarters...
- Time zone: Central
- Traditional language: Lakota languageLakota languageLakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. While generally taught and considered by speakers as a separate language, Lakota is mutually understandable with the other two languages , and is considered by most linguists one of the three major varieties of the Sioux...
- Enrolled members living on reservation: 21,245
- Major employers: Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Bureau of Indian AffairsBureau of Indian AffairsThe Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
, Todd County School District
Government
Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST) re-established self-government, after adopting 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 followed by many Native American nations. At the time and since then, many residents opposed the elected government, preferring their traditional form of clanClan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
chiefs selected for life, contingent on approval by women elders, and a tribal council that operated by consensus.
The elders of both men and women have continued to have influence within the nation, particularly among those who have followed more traditional lives. At times the political factions have developed and continued along ethnic and cultural lines, with full-blood Sioux following traditional ways, and others, sometimes mixed-blood or having had more urban or European-American experiences, supporting the elected government. The short, two-year terms of office can make it difficult for elected 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".
- Law: charter, constitution, and bylaws (approved November 23, 1935)
- Governing Body: Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council (20 members)
- Executive Officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sergeant-At-Arms
Elections
- Primary elections, fourth Thursday of August; general elections, fourth Thursday of October
- President and vice-president elected at large for two-year terms; Tribal Council elected from members' districts every two years; Council appoints the secretary, treasurer, and sergeant-at-arms
- Number of election districts: 13
- Proportion of representatives: one representative per 750 members
Council meetings
- Meetings are held once a month the second Wednesday and Thursday.
- Quorum: 11 members
Education and media
- Tribal College: Sinte Gleska UniversitySinte Gleska UniversitySinte Gleska University is a four-year private American Indian tribal college, located in Mission, South Dakota, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, a Brulé Lakota Indian Reservation...
, Mission, SD - Radio: KINI 96.1 FM, St. Francis, SD
- Newspaper: Todd County Tribune, Mission, SD
- Schools: St. Francis Indian School (Sicangu Oyate Ho, Inc.), Todd County High School (Todd County School District 66-1)
Notable tribal members and residents
- Janeen Antoine (Sicangu Lakota), curator, educator, and founder of the American Indian Contemporary Arts in San Francisco in 1983, grew up on the Rosebud Reservation. Her gallery was one of the first in the nation to deal with contemporary American Indian art. It has been an important center in the US for encouraging new work.
- Bob BarkerBob BarkerRobert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
grew up on the reservation, where his mother was a teacher. He became The Price Is RightThe Price Is RightThe Price Is Right is a television game show franchise originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and created by Bob Stewart, and is currently produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed...
television show host. - Benjamin "Ben" ReifelBen ReifelBenjamin "Ben" Reifel, also known as Lone Feather was a public administrator and politician of Lakota Sioux and German-American descent. He had a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, retiring as area administrator...
(1906-1990), five-term U.S. Congressman, was born near ParmeleeParmelee, South DakotaParmelee is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States, which lies within the Rosebud Indian Reservation. The population was 562 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
. During his lifetime, he served in the U.S. Army, worked as a field officer and regional administrator for the BIABIA- Acronym :* Bureau of Indian Affairs, a US government agency* Board of Immigration Appeals, a US government agency* The IATA airport code for Bastia - Poretta Airport, or, informally:** Baghdad International Airport...
, and received a master's and doctoral degree from Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Reifel was elected as US Representative in 1960 and served until his retirement in 1971. - Yvette RoubideauxYvette RoubideauxYvette Roubideaux, M.D., M.P.H. , a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, South Dakota, is a doctor and public health administrator; in May 2009 she was confirmed as the appointed Director of the Indian Health Service , an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services...
, M.D., M.P.H., a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS), appointed as the first woman in 2009. The IHS, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, is the principal federal health care advocate and provider for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
- Chief Sinte GleskaSpotted TailSiŋté Glešká was a Brulé Lakota tribal chief. Although a great warrior in his youth, and having taken part in the Grattan massacre, he declined to participate in Red Cloud's War, having become convinced of the pointlessness of opposing the white incursions into his homeland; he became a...
, 1823-1881), a member of the Brulé Sioux and a relative of Crazy HorseCrazy HorseCrazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
, was a leading war chief in battles with the PawneePawneePawnee people are a Caddoan-speaking Native American tribe. They are federally recognized as the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma....
. In 1854 he attacked a mail wagon, killing US Army forces, and was captured and imprisoned. After his release, he became a leader of the peace faction and a statesman of the Sioux tribe. In 1868 Spotted Tail signed a treaty ceding Sioux lands along the Republican and the Platte rivers. The Sioux were forced to move 30 miles (48.3 km) to the west. In 1869 tribal opponents tried to kill him, but he survived. In 1870 Spotted Tail and Red Cloud visited Washington, and negotiated moving to the upper White River, which they preferred. In 1877 he was one of the leaders forced to sign a treaty that ceded the sacred Black HillsBlack HillsThe Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
of Dakota to the US government. Crow Dog assassinated Spotted Tail on 5 August 1881 for having made the land deal.
Black Hills
The Oglala Lakota and other Sioux nations sued the federal government in a land claim for its taking of the Black Hills. 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.Communities
The Rosebud Sioux Reservation has 24 communities:- Lakeview
- AntelopeAntelope, South DakotaAntelope is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 826 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
- OkreekOkreek, South DakotaOkreek is an unincorporated community in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 269. The town is wholly within the jurisdiction of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, and the populace is almost entirely Sioux-American...
- ParmeleeParmelee, South DakotaParmelee is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States, which lies within the Rosebud Indian Reservation. The population was 562 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
- RosebudRosebud, South DakotaRosebud is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,587 at the 2010 census.Rosebud, located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, is the home to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Headquarters...
- Saint FrancisSt. Francis, South DakotaSt. Francis is a town on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 709 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
- Spring CreekSpring Creek, South DakotaSpring Creek is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 268 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
- Two StrikeTwo Strike, South DakotaTwo Strike is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States, named after Brulé, Lakota chief Two Strike who lived at that location for a period of time...
- Marshmallow
- Milks Camp
- Corn Creek
- Butte Creek
- Soldier Creek
- Upper Cut Meat
- Ring Thunder
- Black Pipe
- Bull Creek
- Swift Bear
- Grass Mountain
- IdealIdeal, South DakotaIdeal is an unincorporated community in northern Tripp County, South Dakota, United States, named for its superb farmland. It lies north of the city of Winner, the county seat. Its elevation is 1,886 feet ....
- He Dog
- Horse Creek
- White HorseWhite Horse, South DakotaWhite Horse is a census-designated place in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 276 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
- MissionMission, South DakotaMission is a city in Todd County, South Dakota, United States, and the Rosebud Indian Reservation. The population was 1,182 at the 2010 census....