KUL WICASA OYATE - Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
HOME Special attractions Powwows cultural tours & programs recreation Lodging & dining  stores & businesses	TRIBAL ECONOMY The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe has traditionally supported ranching and other primary agricultural activities. Approximately 15,803 acres of reservation land is devoted to crops; another 115,921 acres are grazing lands for cattle and smaller herds of horses, bison and elk. The Tribe, via its various enterprises, has become the single largest employer on the reservation. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service also employ tribal members. The Reservation once had the lowest per capita income of all South Dakota reservations, but the Tribe continues to research means of improving the economic conditions and providing greater sources of income for tribal members. Recent initiatives include the marketing of agricultural products and the development of recreational opportunities, products and amenities for tourists. Wind energy development is in the planning stage, and ideas for future enterprises include an ethanol processing plant, a riverfront marina and convenience store, a commercial fishery, a small strip mall, a bottled water supplier and distribution company, and a telemarketing call center. BUSINESS CORPORATIONS • The Golden Buffalo Casino and Motel features 175 slot machines and two table games. Facilities include a conference center, a dance floor, a restaurant and a 38-room motel. The Casino employs 50 people. • The Lower Brule Farm Corporation, established in 1979, raises crops on over 7,000 acres of cropland. It is one of the world's largest producers of popcorn, and grows kidney, pinto, navy, and soybeans, sunflowers, and wheat, milo, and alfalfa for feed. The Farm Corporation runs more than a thousand head of cattle. It employs 12 full-time employees and several seasonal employees. • Lakota Foods is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lower Brule Farm Corporation. The business markets products produced on the Lower Brule Farm. It employs 3 full-time people and 7 part-time. • The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Employment Enterprise, established in 1992, manages construction projects for the Tribe. It employs 60 individuals. • The Lower Propane Distribution Plant stores approximately 300,000 gallons of propane for purchase by Tribal members and local residents. It employs 4 individuals. • Sung Maka Ska, which opened in 2007, is a small business producing contemporary gift items using traditional materials. It employs 5 people. MAKA FOUNDATION Our Lakota word for earth, its land, water and animals is “maka”. The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe has over many years reintroduced bison, elk, wild turkey and many native plant species to the reservation. To further this ambitious program and to support habitat and species recovery and conservation, and educate and equip tribal members in this crucial work, the Tribe established the Maka Foundation in 2005 as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. With the support of the Foundation, the Tribe is now reintroducing two important animals almost wiped out by the spread of agriculture: the black-footed ferret and the swift fox. AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK The Tribe, through the Lower Brule Farm Corporation, farms over 7,000 acres. The primary crops are corn, edible beans, wheat, and sunflowers. Smaller crops include alfalfa, milo, and potatoes. Historically, ranching has been the Tribe's most successful enterprise, providing considerable revenues and relatively high-paying jobs for the approximately two dozen tribal members involved in the business. The Farm Corporation utilizes approximately 34,000 acres of Tribal land (on and off the Reservation), including four ranches, totaling 23,772 acres, that the Tribe has purchased since 1992. A bison herd and the Tribe's Buffalo Interpretive Center are located on one of these ranches. These activities have been a leading factor in the Tribe's economic stability. CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES The Tribe operates the Lower Brule Employment Enterprise construction company. Employment Enterprise has completed a number of major building, road and shoreline bank stabilization projects for the Tribe, including a major expansion project for the Lower Brule Elementary School, the construction of the 12.9 million dollar Lower Brule Justice Center (an adult and juvenile detention center, a police department, and court house), the reconstruction and paving of a 12-mile road serving the Farm Corporation and gravel mining interests in the Little Bend, and several National Register archaeological site protection projects on and off the Reservation. GRAVEL MINING Reservation resources include large deposits of sand and gravel that provide up to $100,000 of income per year. HUNTING AND FISHING Lower Brule offers top-notch hunting and fishing opportunities, including some of the best pheasant hunting and walleye fishing in the world. Seasonal hunting is available for big game (deer, elk, and buffalo), pheasants, quail, geese, ducks, wild turkey, and rabbits. The Tribe's Department of Wildlife, Fish and Recreation supplies permits and guide services. SERVICES AND RETAIL BUSINESSES The reservation is home to a number of privately-owned businesses. These include a bank, a gas station, a garage, a small cafe/arcade, a small variety shop, and a second-hand store. The Tribe leases a building to Wells Fargo for banking services to reservation residents. The Lower Brule Wells Fargo Bank is a full-service bank. TOURISM AND RECREATION Lower Brule Sioux Reservation The Tribe operates the Golden Buffalo Casino and Resort in the town of Lower Brule. The 9,000 square foot casino features 175 slot machines and two table games. Facilities include a conference area, a dance floor, a restaurant and a gift shop. Hotel facilities include 38 guestrooms. In 2004, the casino employed 50 individuals. The Tribe is currently considering moving and expanding the casino. The Narrows, located only three and a half miles north of Lower Brule, is the narrowest point in the Big Bend of the Missouri River. It has been a portage and settlement site for thousands of years, known to many generations of tribal people and to the fur-traders, frontiersman, and explorers who traveled the Missouri. The Tribe has developed an interpretive trail to one of the hills along the Narrows, providing spectacular views of the Bend and the upstream and downstream river. The creation of an interpretive facility near the head of the trail, containing a Lakota tipi camp and a Mandan/Arikara earthlodge, is underway. Cultural tours can be booked in advance and small groups or solo guests may arrange lodging in a traditional tipi, participate in songs, wildlife tours, boating, dances and listen to storytelling. The Tribe sponsors two annual pow wows, one for youth in June and the Lower Brule Fair and Pow Wow the second week in August, which includes a rodeo, horse racing, and a softball tournament. The Big Bend and Ft. Randall dams on the Missouri River have created a number of recreational areas that serve to attract tourists to the reservation area. A campground near the dam has several beaches and boat ramps for public use. Seasonal fishing contests, softball, volleyball, and basketball games and tournaments are available. Lower Brule Region The highway serving the Lower Brule Reservation is the federally-designated Native American Scenic Byway, a 101 mile long tourist route from Chamberlain to Fort Pierre. The Tribe developed the Buffalo Interpretive Center, a large tourist facility with a diorama, multimedia displays and a gift shop, along the Byway (Highway 1806), approximately 7 miles southeast of Fort Pierre. There are other facilities available throughout the area. Several fine restaurants and more casual dining opportunities are available in the communities of Chamberlain/Oacoma (30 miles) and Pierre (60 miles). There are also a variety of attractions located in the adjacent communities of Fort Thompson, Chamberlain/Oacoma, and Pierre, the State's Capital. The Akta Lakota Museum in Chamberlain has displays of Lakota ceremonial dress, weaponry and tools arranged in a circular timeline representing the Medicine Wheel. The Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre has a changing exhibit that prominently offers views of Indigenous life.