Located within the boundaries of the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation, the Big Bend of the Missouri River is the largest natural meander loop in any river system in the United States.  Most of the land within the bend is farmed by the Lower Brule Farm Corporation, but the Tribe has protected and is restoring a special area of rare sandhill prairie – the last remnant in South Dakota of a vast network of dunes extending across western Nebraska.

The Narrows Interpretive Area is the narrow “neck” of land, formed around a chain of hills and approximately one and one-half miles wide, that created the Big Bend.  For thousands of years, the indigenous peoples of the Missouri River basin portaged across the narrowest gap between these hills to avoid the extra 30-mile journey around the loop, and some settled here, including the Mandan, Arikara, and Lakota. 

In more recent times, this area became a landmark for fur trappers, frontiersmen and military personnel.  The Lewis and Clark expedition camped in 1804 on the Missouri River just downstream from the Narrows.  In the mid- to late-19^th century, during the days of steamboat travel, boats would disembark travelers on the east side of the Narrows and let them stretch their legs by walking over to the west side while the steamboat made the 30 mile loop around the bend, picking them up for the trip upriver to Pierre. 

Today, the Narrows overlooks Lake Sharpe, the reservoir created by the construction of the Big Bend Dam, which flooded Lower Brule territory in the Missouri Valley following passage of the Pick Sloan Act of 1944.

BUFFALO AND ELK PRESERVES

The Lower Brule Tribe maintains a herd of roughly 300 bison in three ranges of approximately 6200 acres. One of these preserves, the Big Game Unit, which is located around the town of Lower Brule, is also the home of almost 200 elk.  

The original bison reintroduction took place in the early 1970s. The Buffalo Interpretive Center is located on the bison pasture near Fort Pierre. The goal of the bison program at Lower Brule is to restore the tribe’s relationship to the buffalo.

For thousands of years the native people of North America lived in harmony with the land and with the animals on the land.  The great bison herds provided native people with food, clothing, shelter and medicine.  In appreciation for his gifts, native people used everything from the buffalo. The meat was eaten or dried and stored for the winter; the skull was used for ceremonies; the horns were used to drink water or as spoons; water containers were made from the bladder; and skins became warm robes, moccasins and covers for tipis; hooves were made into rattles; bones  became tools for adults and toys for children; even the droppings when dry were burned in campfires. Because the bison provided so much, Indian people honored them and regarded them as sacred, included them in their songs and dances, and, most importantly kept them in their prayers.

The Bison program at Lower Brule provides meat for tribal ceremonial occasions, including PowWows, High School programs, community feeds and various other tribal events. The herd provides meat to tribal members and many other parts of the animal, such as hides, are made available to tribal members for traditional and ceremonial uses. 

The bison program works to provide healthy alternatives to junk food by producing buffalo jerky and buffalo meat for the table.  Both jerky and cuts of meat are marketed to the public.  The bison herd is managed to offer a big game hunting program for tribal members and non-tribal members.  This hunting program provides income to help offset the costs of the program.

The bison program is run by the Lower Brule Fish, Wildlife & Recreation Department.  There are three bison pastures on the Reservation.

WILDLIFE EXHIBITS

The Lower Brule Department of Fish, Wildlife & Recreation is located 3 miles north of the town of Lower Brule.  Surrounded by the Tribe's bison and elk range, the Wildlife facility offers unique interpretive exhibits and displays of area wildlife and native trees, plants and grasses. Tours of wildlife areas on the Reservation are also available with advance notice.

TRIBAL ADMINISTRATION BUILDING  

The Lower Brule Tribal Administration Building sits atop the bluffs overlooking the town of Lower Brule along Lake Sharpe. Its unique architecture, state-of-the-art facilities, and spectacular Tribal Council Meeting Chambers symbolize revitalized growth and economic development, while preserving the traditions and culture of the past. 

Constructed in 2003 by AmerIndian, a native-owned architectural firm in St. Paul, Minnesota, at a cost of $6.2 million dollars, the building has two stories with 60 offices and approximately 46,000 square feet of space, accommodating the Tribal Council, tribal administrative offices, many tribal programs and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

The design of the center is unique. The building and grounds represent a Sioux encampment. The building is a half-circle, oriented to the summer solstice, with the two end pieces representing an open tipi cover, symbolizing the ability for future expansion. The front pavement represents a Medicine Wheel with the colors of the four directions.  The entrance way also represents a tipi.  Several large tipi installations in the front of the building and the enormous tipi housing the Tribal Council Chambers at the side overlooking the Missouri Valley, reinforce this vision. The room is hung with a great painted and decorated buffalo robe and the walls above the windows are covered with beautiful murals representing our sacred relationship to the land, its animals and plants, and our traditional way of life.

The Hospitality Office, located inside the front doors of the Tribal Administration building, offers tours of the building and has a small gift shop.  

Contact us: Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Tourism Office, 187 Oyate Circle, Lower Brule, South Dakota 57548. Phone 605-473-0561 or 888-323-2260.