Indigenous

The Indian Health Services clinic on March 23, 2024, in Fort Thompson, S.D., on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation.

Access to health care limited in SD rural and reservation areas

A weekslong investigation revealed numerous barriers to health care in rural and reservation areas of South Dakota that are leading to increased illness and higher mortality rates. This is the first of a two-part series.

Brandy and Scott Louwagie of Sioux Falls pose for a photo on their couch

'The kids are what you love:' 2 foster families share their stories

State officials say South Dakota is in need of more people to help foster children. News Watch spoke to two families about the system, the challenges and what it will take to get more people involved.

A doctor check's a patient's breathing

South Dakota’s high health care costs causing many to skip treatments

Increasing health care costs are affecting almost everyone, but the unusually high costs in South Dakota are prompting some state residents to forgo necessary medical care, which in turn can drive up costs even further.

Native American students line up for recess at Sapa Un Jesuit Academy in St. Francis, South Dakota.

Hard realities on Rosebud reservation hinder educational goals: 'The cycle continues'

Sapa Un Jesuit Academy in St. Francis takes a more active, Lakota-based approach to education. 'It's a different kind of commitment," said principal Stacee Valandra.

Rose Cordier-Beauvais, 70, visits the gravesite of her grandson, Honor Beauvais, at St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery in

Remembering Honor: A year after blizzard ravaged Rosebud, boy's death raises questions

Honor Beauvais stopped breathing on the night of Dec. 15, 2022, and emergency crews couldn't reach him through the winter storm. His death on the Rosebud Indian Reservation has come to encapsulate the challenges and failures of the disaster response.

New Native American mentoring program in South Dakota builds lifetime bonds

New Native American mentoring program in South Dakota builds lifetime bonds

A South Dakota branch of Friends of the Children pairs paid, full-time professional mentors with thousands of at-risk children to help them grow into stable teenagers and eventually successful, well-rounded adults.

Tribe bans Dupree educators from reservation over child abuse allegations

Tribe bans Dupree educators from reservation over child abuse allegations

DUPREE, S.D. — A child abuse allegation against a teacher at Dupree Elementary School prompted the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to take the unusual step of banning the teacher, a principal and the superintendent from reservation lands where the public school is located. As a result, the three employees have