Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Marcella Gilbert organizes Lakota cultural activities and provides respite care for parents at the Children’s Village operated by Simply Smiles in La Plant, South Dakota. Bryan Nurnberger, president and founder of the nonprofit, serves as interim director of the foster care village. (ARIELLE ZIONTS / KHN)

It takes a village: Foster program is a new model of care for Indigenous children

BY: - February 14, 2023

LA PLANT, S.D. — Past a gravel road lined with old white wooden buildings is a new, 8-acre village dotted with colorful houses, tepees, and a sweat lodge. The Simply Smiles Children’s Village, in this small town on the Cheyenne River Reservation, is home to a program aimed at improving outcomes and reducing trauma for […]

Flags from various tribal governments on display near Cannonball, ND in 2016. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

SD tribes would lose millions for tribal government if state eliminates food sales tax

BY: - January 26, 2023

PIERRE – A food sales tax cut that passed a House panel Thursday morning has raised concerns for South Dakota’s nine tribal governments. An official with the Bureau of Finance and Management estimated that the tribes would lose about $2 million in funding for tribal government operations if the food tax is eliminated, but admitted […]

The South Dakota Capitol is reflected in Capitol Lake. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Bill to complicate county seat relocations limps out of committee

BY: - January 20, 2023

A bill that would make it more difficult to move a county seat to another city has been stripped down by committee amendments but will move on to the Senate floor. Senate Bill 56, as originally introduced, would have made numerous changes to the state law (SDCL 7-6) governing the relocation of a county seat, […]

(John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Federal government opens grassland conservation program to tribes

BY: - November 30, 2022

Three South Dakota tribal nations have a new opportunity to partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conserve and improve grasslands. The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program pays landowners to set aside environmentally sensitive land for a specific conservation concern. Landowners get money, and the public gets benefits like cleaner water and more wildlife habitat. […]