Chairman Gourneau delivers State of the Tribes speech
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PIERRE — We’re all in this together. That was a recurring theme during the State of the Tribes address delivered on Thursday to a joint session of the S.D. Legislature.
“We are all neighbors. We are all South Dakotans,” said Lower Brule Sioux Tribal Chairman Boyd Gourneau.
When he looks around the Lower Brule Reservation, on the west bank of the Missouri River in Lyman and Stanley counties, Gourneau said he sees hard-working South Dakotans. Those people have helped create some of the tribe’s economic success stories like its popcorn company, its commercial hunting, and its gaming and restaurant success.
Media coverage often overlooks tribal success stories, Gourneau said.
Problems exist on the reservation, including an epidemic of methamphetamine use. Gourneau said that meth use was “rampant” and has overwhelmed the tribe’s judicial system.
Health care would be better on the reservation, Gourneau said, if the United States government would live up to its treaty obligations.
Photos
Flanked by Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson and Lt. Gov. Matt Michels, Lower Brule Sioux Tribal Chairman Boyd Gourneau prepares to deliver the State of the Tribes address to a joint session of the Legislature.
Next, members of the Legislature, brought together in a joint session for the State of the Tribes address, raise their right hands while they take part in a Sioux prayer.
Photos courtesy of Community News Service