The Harvest Initiative

The Crow Creek Sioux Indian Reservation is approximately 358,361 acres located in central South Dakota. The reservation land base is approximately 10 x 70 miles. Current reservation land held in trust by the United States government is approximately 107,543.28 acres. The reservation tribal land is approximately 270,000 acres within Buffalo, Hughes and Hyde Counties. It is located along the north and eastern shores of the Missouri river. The terrain consists of plains, hills, shoreline, bluffs, prairie, lakes, dams, river and creeks.

The Crow Creek Indian Reservation was established by executive order following what was known as the Minnesota Uprising, as a prison camp for the exiled Isanti Dakota and Winnebago people. These were the survivors, mostly women and children, of the largest known public execution in American History, “The Hanging of 38 Dakota Men at Mankato Minnesota.” From 1863 to 1866 approximately 300 died at Fort Thompson suffering from starvation, sickness, disease, exposure, hardship, and heartache. The Reservation is also the homelands to the Ihanktowan Dakota of the Oceti Sakowi (Seven Council Fires) commonly known as the Great Sioux Nation. In the years following 1863 bands of Dakota Chiefs including Sisseton and Wahpeton were forced and ordered to settle on Crow Creek by the US Government. Dakotas from other bands including the Mdewakan, Hunkpapa, Yanktanai and Tetons also settled on Crow Creek when they were not allowed annuities at other reservation agencies.

Because the Dakota who settled on Crow Creek Reservation are descendants of all bands of the Oceti Sakowi (Seven Council Fires) or the Dakota/Nakota/Lakota Nation (Great Sioux Nation) they most naturally called themselves Hunkpati. (Making of Relatives, To Live) The Hunkpati are identified as a distinct band with signature authority on the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty with the United States Government. The Crow Creek Sioux lost over 16,700 acres of land under the Pick-Sloan Act. The building of the Oahe, Big Bend and Fort Randall dams on the Missouri River had the most devastating and immediate effects on the Crow Creek Sioux’s subsistence, economy, food, geographical landscape, and natural resources.

The Dakota on the Crow Creek Reservation voted not to approve of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and were not formally organized until ordered to adopt a Constitution and By-Laws by the Secretary of Interior in 1949 to govern and manage tribal affairs. The Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Council is the official governing body of and for the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, the Tribal Council is empowered and authorized to enact resolutions and ordinances governing the management of all economic and educational affairs and enterprises of the Tribe and Reservation. The Crow Creek Sioux organized themselves into three defined reservation district areas: Fort Thompson, Crow Creek and Big Bend. The Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Council consists of a Tribal Chairman elected at large, and six Council Members vote among themselves for the Executive Officer positions of Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. The Districts of Big Bend and Crow Creek each elect one tribal council member representative and the Fort Thompson District elects four council member representatives. The tribal council is the body for governance within the reservation. The tribal council has authority to appoint committees and boards and hire department staff to assist in the day to day administration of services of the tribe and reservation.

At present, the reservation suffers from a lagging economic indicators with few signs of development. In 2000, Buffalo County – where the majority of the reservation is located – was named the poorest county in the United States, with just under $5,300 per capita income annually. Astoundingly, the Native American income in the county is actually lower. In contrast, the per capita income of South Dakota and the United States is $17,562 and $21,586, respectfully.2 The median family income on the reservation is $13,750, much lower than for South Dakota ($43,237) or the U.S. ($50,046).2 Most residents (55.7%) live below the poverty level,1 compared to 13.2% in South Dakota and 12.4% in the U.S.2 Unemployment is also a significant problem on the reservation; according to the 2000 United States Census, the unemployment rate was 21.6% . The rate for all enrolled tribe members – including those living on and off the reservation – the rate is much higher at 58% . By contrast, the current rate for South Dakota is 2.6% and for the United States is 5.5%.

However, over the decades Crow Creek has persevered through many hardships, including broken treaties and the loss of land due to the construction of the Big Bend Dam. While the difficulties of the current economic situation are important to understand, they should not be seen as the tribe and reservation’s defining characteristics. Crow Creek is a beautiful place with beautiful people and Harvest Initiative is excited partner with the people of Crow Creek to develop a brighter future.