Potential Industry Possibilities for South Dakota Indian Reservations

Research studies covering manufacturing growth in more than 245 non-metropolitan communities (ones with less than 50.000 population) across the U.S. indicate that new industries may generate employment and earnings in communities where the industries are located, but net fiscal gains to local governments and school districts may be more modest. And, in some cases, elements of the local public sector may incur cost increases exceeding tax and other revenue increases. Dobbs felt that communities should not be discouraged by these findings. Instead they should invest some time and effort in examining two questions. The first question pertains to the examination of the type of industry to be pursued. The second question involves examining how potential new firms are likely to benefit or impose costs on public and private segments of their particular, local economies. The geographic area of study was limited to Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian Reservations. The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation consists of Shannon and Washabaugh Counties, while Rosebud Indian Reservation consists only of Todd County. The selection of Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian reservations as the study area was based on population considerations. In 1979 more than half of South Dakota’s Indian population (59.3 percent) resided in those areas. Realizing that the reservation counties (Shannon, Washabaugh, and Todd) cannot and should not be totally isolated from the surrounding areas, four adjacent counties (Bennett, Mellette, Tripp and Gregory) with relatively large Indian populations were also included. Therefore, the total study area included seven counties. The objective of the research was to specify and demonstrate the use of a planning methodology for identifying the types of rural industries that might both be feasible and generate significant employment and personal income on South Dakota Indian Reservations. The methodology is used to develop rural industrialization strategies but will stop short of specific feasibility analyses