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Lower Brule Sioux Reservation
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Tribal Headquarters: Lower Brule
Number of enrolled members: 2,502
Reservation Population: 1,362
Total Area: 225,970 Acres |
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A 101-mile National Scenic Byway, called the Native American Scenic Byway, crosses the Lower Brule Reservation. |
The Lower Brule Sioux Reservation is located in the central portion of South Dakota, 15 miles southeast of Pierre, SD and 16 miles north of Reliance, SD on Interstate 90.
The reservation boundaries on the east and north include Lakes Sharpe and Francis Case, the large reservoirs formed by mainstem dams on the Missouri River.
The reservation covers an area of about 404 square miles within Lyman and Stanley counties. Of this area, about 35 square miles are covered by major reservoirs and about 201 square miles are owned by the Tribe and Tribal members.
The terms of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 placed the Lakota on one large reservation that covered parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, and four other states. After the defeat of the Indian tribes during the Indian Wars of the 1870s, the United States created several smaller reservations. In 1889, the government confiscated 7.7 million acres of the Sioux’s sacred Black Hills and relegated the Brule to the small reservation along the banks of the Missouri River.
The Tribes of the Great Sioux Nation signed treaties with the United States in 1824, 1851, 1865, and 1868, which are legal documents that established their boundaries and recognized their rights as sovereign governmental entities. Today there are 6 members on the Lower Brule Tribal Council whom are elected by the tribal members.
The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe has always been known among the Lakota Nation as the Kul Wicasa Oyate and with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, or Upper Brules composed the Sicangu Oyate, the Burned Thighs. The Lakota Nation or Great Sioux Nation includes the Oglala, Brule, Minnecoujou, Hunkpapa, Blackfeet, Without Bows and Two Kettle. They were expert horsemen and buffalo hunters on the plains.
 Today, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe’s major economic occupation is cattle ranching and farming for 26 tribal operators.
The Tribe operates two large irrigated farms, 5,900 acres under the Lower Brule Farm Corporation, a tribal construction enterprise and guided hunting for small & big game and a goose camp operation.
The Tribe also operates the Golden Buffalo Casino and Motel with a convention center, an RV Park and a gas station. A recent tribal venture is the offering of tour packages on a daily and weekly basis including historical and cultural attractions for both national and global tourists from several countries.
Lower Brule is also one of the nation's top popcorn producers.
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