The Lower Brule Sioux Reservation

The Lower Brule Sioux Reservation. . , Dancers at a Lower Brule Sioux powwow. , Courtesy of Central Dakota Times, Debi Ruiz, For thousands of years, ancestors of the Kul Wicasa Oyate, members of the Lakota band known as the Sicangu (burnt or scorched thigh), lived in the valleys along the Missouri River. They favored the lands where the White River emptied into the river., In the 18th century, French traders began calling these people the Brûlées (French for burnt), which led to the name Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. The remaining Sicangu, known as the Heyata Wicasa Oyate, eventually relocated to the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the U.S. government used treaties and federal acts to force the Lower Brule Sioux into a small area of their traditional lands., Tatanka Wakan (Medicine Bull) led the Lower Brule Sioux between the 1860s and 1890s. , Courtesy of Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, A hoop dancer performed in 2013. , Courtesy of National Park Service, Reclaiming Lost Lands , Today, the Lower Brule Sioux protect and preserve their cultural traditions and work to return to their traditional state of self-sufficiency. The most urgent priority in this complex cultural landscape has been the return of lost lands. As almost half the property in the Reservation was non-Indian-owned as late as the 1950s, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe established an aggressive land re-purchase and consolidation program., "[The] past is part of our present and our identity. When we travel to our sacred sites and gathering places outside the Reservation, we always remain in our homeland, and we are committed to its protection and preservation." , , The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, The Public Information Office in the Lower Brule Tribal Administration Building provides current information on attractions, activities, and summer programs. , Courtesy of www.TravelSouthDakota.com, The annual Lower Brule Fair, Powwow, and Rodeo is a colorful, exciting, and highly recommended stop during the second weekend in August. , Courtesy of ©Visions Of America LLC/123RF.com