The Rosebud Sioux Tribe 988 Lifeline Project will establish a 988 Lifeline response team for the Rosebud Indian Reservation, home to 29,028 Tribal members, as well as members of federally-recognized T - The Rosebud Sioux Tribe 988 Lifeline Project will establish a 988 Lifeline response team for the Rosebud Indian Reservation, home to 29,028 Tribal members, as well as members of federally-recognized Tribes who live on or near the Rosebud Indian Reservation. The project will address the transportation barriers to care faced by many individuals in the catchment area, many of whom have to travel over an hour to the single mental health care facility on the reservation. The team will enhance connections between federal behavioral health services, community-based behavioral health services, and off-reservation services, strengthening the network of care for users. The Sicangu Oyate (which translates to English as the “Burnt Thigh Nation”) is also known by its federally recognized name of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST). It is one of the 574 federally recognized American Indian tribal governments in the United States. The Sicangu are one of the seven bands of Lakota people which, together with the Dakota and Nakota, compose the Oceti Sakowin Oyate (which translates to English as the “People of Seven Council Fires”). This group of people is also sometimes referred to as the Great Sioux Nation. Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the RST was able to re-establish its self-government and is currently a sovereign nation. The RST is located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, which was established in 1889 after the US partition of the Great Sioux Reservation, created by the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. The Rosebud Indian Reservation has a geographic area of 882,416 acres located primarily in Todd County, South Dakota and parts of the four adjacent counties in south-central South Dakota. Flanked by the Missouri River on the East and the Badlands on the West, the RST is composed of 20 communities located across the Rosebud Indian Reservation, as well as on off-reservation land known as trust land, which act as political subdivisions for the tribal government. As of 2016, there are approximately 34,150 enrolled RST tribal members. Of those, 29,028 tribal members live on the reservation. In 2010, roughly 44% of the population living on the reservation were 19 years of age or younger. Suicide prevention is a priority among the behavioral health challenges afflicting Rosebud’s tribal community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) populations had the highest rates of suicide in 2021 at a rate of 28.1 per 100,000 people, twice that of the general population. In 2018, suicide was the leading cause of death for AI/AN between the ages of 10-19 and in 2019, it was the 8th leading cause of death among all AI/AN. The goals of the project include: effectively partnering with the South Dakota 988 Lifeline program to provide culturally competent services for patients in crisis; and assessing the impact of the award, ensuring it meets relevant standards, and sustaining the program beyond the project period. The catchment area and service population for the project may be expanded to other area and regional American Indian communities in discussion with local, regional, and state partners.
