Lower Brule Reservation

Flag of the reserve

Location of the reservation in South Dakota

The Lower Brule Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Brulé - Lakota in the US state of South Dakota . It covers 914 km² (225,970 acres) and is inhabited by 1,362 people. The reserve area includes parts of Lyman and Stanley Counties. The reserve administration is located in the Lower Brule settlement . Originally part of the Great Sioux Reservation , it was removed from it by the US Congress in 1889 and managed as a separate reservation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs . Through the General Allotment Act of 1887 , around 50% of the area was lost to white settlers in the following years.

Lower Brule Reservation borders the "Big Bend Dam" and the reservoir " Lake Sharpe ", one of the four Missouri reservoirs created by the United States Army Corps of Engineers according to the Pick Sloan Plan, planned in 1944 for flood protection and hydropower. Work on the dam and lake was completed in the 1960s. After Lake Sharpe was formed, parts of the reserve were flooded. Some settlements had to be rebuilt in higher places. Much fertile soil and forests on the banks of the Missouri were lost during the flooding. This worsened the economic situation of the residents. There is a small casino , the Golden Buffalo Casino & Motel, on the reserve area . Much of the reserve area is used for raising cattle.

location

The reserve is about 58 miles southeast of Pierre on Highway 1806 (Lewis & Clark Route) in the US state of South Dakota . It is adjacent to the Crow Creek Reservation . The two reservations are only separated by the Missouri River .