Santee Sioux Reservation

Location of the reservation in Nebraska

Original tribal area of the Dakota. The Santee Sioux reservation is labeled 'Dakota' on the map. (Under the white lettering Yankton)

The Santee Sioux Reservation is the Indian reservation of the Santee Sioux Nation in Knox County in the US state of Nebraska on the border with South Dakota . The Indian reservation administration is located in Niobrara west of the reservation and not on reservation area.

The reservation is south of Lewis and Clark Lake , on the Missouri River . A census in 2000 the reserve had 878 inhabitants, of whom 64.1% natives and 33.7% white. The area of the reserve is 447.84 km². The largest settlement is Santee with 346 inhabitants.

The reserve was established as a Niobrara Reservation by the American Congress on March 3, 1863 after the Sioux uprising . Surviving Sioux Indian tribes from Minnesota were settled here after the Sioux uprising.

history

Chief Taoyateduta , better known as Little Crow

Santee-Dakota-Sioux, Minnesota

The Santee- Dakota - Sioux come from Minnesota west of the Great Lakes. In 1851, the Santee Sioux sold much of their tribal territory (approximately 90,000 km²), which they inhabited and hunted with other tribes, in what is now the state of Minnesota to the United States with the signing of the Treaty of Mendota for $ 1,410,000. In return, they received a reservation at Minnesota, the Lower Sioux Agency , a one-time payment of US $ 220,000 and the promise of annual payments and deliveries of goods. Of the $ 220,000 paid, the Indians only received $ 20,000, which was paid out to the chiefs, and goods worth $ 40,000. The rest went to white traders who had compelled the Indians to pay their debts with the money. White traders like Henry Hastings Sibley were profiteers . As a result, there were attempts to turn the Dakota into sedentary farmers. One of the pioneers was the influential Chief Little Crow (Taoyateduta) , who was also one of the signatories of the Treaty of 1851. The Indian reservation was further reduced in 1858 by treaties signed in Washington when Minnesota was admitted as a state to the United States attained. The areas north of Minnesota were lost. Now the Mdewakanton of Sioux were finally dependent on the United States government and white traders. The remaining land was not enough to support itself. The big profiteers were the traders who made up to 400% profit on goods and services. The tribal society also threatened to break up, as annual payments were made not to the tribe but to the individual households. This led to the chiefs losing power. In 1862, no payments were made from Washington. The residents of the reserve were starving because the harvest in 1861 was also poor. These circumstances then led to the Sioux uprising . The uprising was put down by the United States. The Santee surrendered and released their prisoners.

Relocation to Nebraska

The captive members of the Santee, approximately 1,300 to 1,700 people, were taken to Niobrara, Nebraska , Davenport , Iowa, and Fort Thompson , South Dakota. But not only the rebellious Santee, but also the Sioux of the Upper Sioux Agency who were not involved in the uprising were driven from Minnesota.

In May 1866 , 247 Indians originally interned in Davenport, Iowa, were settled on the reservation. On June 11, 1866 , internees from Fort Thompson's Crow Creek Reservation were added. Crow Creek was experiencing a major drought at the time, and many of the internees there had died. In 1867 the missionary Samuel Dutton Hinman built the first church on the reservation, where the "Most Merciful Savior Church" is today. The building also served as an Indian school. Until 1870 he built other buildings such as his own school and hospital. 250 residents of the reserve accepted the Christian faith.

In 1869, 25 families gave up their tribal membership, became US citizens, and received land on the Big Sioux River in South Dakota, now Flandreau , as part of the Homestead program (see also Flandreau Indian Reservation ).

In October 1869 the reservation got its own police force. In June 1870 a tornado destroyed the school and church. In August 1871 the reservation got its own newspaper, the lapi Oaye . The Santee Normal Training School has opened. On January 22, 1878, elections for a reservation council were held for the first time, and in the summer of 1884 the reservation got its own court. The police and the court were abolished again in 1891. On February 3, 1887, the use of the Dakota language in the Santee Normal Training School was banned.

In 1917 the Santee Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was closed. The Winnebago Agency has been responsible for the reserve since then. In 1935 the Normal Training School was closed.

Dam construction

Location of the dams of the Pick Sloan program and the Indian reservations affected by flooding, including the Santee Sioux Reservation

The construction of the Gavins Point Dam between 1952 and 1957 as part of the Pick Sloan Project created the Lewis and Clark Lake reservoir and flooded parts of the reserve. Approximately 2.4 square kilometers (593 acres ) of fertile land on the reserve was lost. Another 1.7 km² (412 acres) of Niobrara Island, which is part of the reserve area, was also flooded. It was not until 1999 that the US Congress awarded the reservation government compensation of $ 8 million.

economy

Since the 1990s, the reservation government has allowed gambling on the reservation, the first place in Nebraska to allow gambling. A tribe-run casino was opened. On February 15, 2013 the new Ohiya Casino - Resort with golf course and clubhouse opened. "Ohiya" means to win in the Lakota language.

government

The reserve has its own government. The council consists of eight members. One council member is elected by the electorate from the four districts of Santee District, Hobu Creek, Howe Creek and Bazil Creek . Four others - chairman ( chairman ), vice chairman ( vice chairman ), secretary ( secretary ) and treasurer ( treasurer ) of the council - are elected by the elected tribal members regardless of the district. The chairman has a term of four years, the vice chairman three years and the treasurer two years. Tribe members who are at least 18 years old and have had their permanent residence in the reserve area for at least 6 months are eligible to vote. With most of the tribe's permanent residents outside of the reserve, this has created tension in the past.