Lakota Nations:
First Nations tourism in the Dakotas
From the 50 State Visitor Guide : North Dakota
N.D. Century Code 2021 §§12.1-20-25, 12.1-32.15, 12.1-34-06
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
3 days for initial registration of “residence” (not defined). 3 days for registration of “temporary domicile,” defined as being physically present in state for more than 10 consecutive days, present in state for more than 30 days in a calendar year, or at a location for longer than 10 consecutive days. §12.1-32.15(1)(h), (2).
Visitors: Per N Dak. SOR office, visitors must register if in state 10 consecutive days or 30 days per calendar year.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Residency Restriction: “High-risk” offenders may not reside within 500 ft. of a public or private school. §12.1-32-13.
Presence restriction: May not knowingly enter school without permission, subject to exceptions. §12.1-20-25.
Duration & updates:
15 to life. Frequency of updates determined by AG. §12.1-32.15.
Updates: Homeless – every 3 days. §12.1-32.15(2). Others vary.
From the 50 State Visitor Guide : South Dakota
S.D.C.L. 2021 §§ 22-24B-1 through 22-24B-36
AWA Compliant
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
3 business days for initial registration and updates, §22-24B-2; however, state law includes Saturday as a business day. §37-24-1(2).
Per the S. Dak. SOR office, there is “wiggle room” in the 3 business day registration requirement for short term visitors, especially if you are passing thru on a road trip and not staying in one location for more than a few days. If your stay in any one place will exceed the 3 day requirement, visitors should “check in” at local police or sheriff dept. and provide info about intended length of stay. Supposedly, if not more than 5-6 days you will not be required to register. “Check out” upon departure.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Residency restriction: “No person who is required to register … may establish a residence within” 500 ft. from school, park, public playground, or public pool.
§22-24B-23. “Residence” defined as the address a person lists for purposes of the sex offender registry.
Presence restriction: “No person who is required to register” may “loiter” within 500 ft. form school, park, public playground, public pool, or library unless registrant committed offense as a minor and was not convicted as an adult. §22-24B-24. Petitions for exemption possible.
Supposedly, short term visitors who check in & check out according to the procedure described above (Registration Triggers & Deadlines) would not be “required to register” & thus not subject to these restrictions during their visit.
Duration & updates:
10 years to life; Petition to remove – 5 years.
Updates every 6 mo. §22-24B-7.
Most recent visit: September 2022
Native American nations can be fascinating places to visit, but make no mistake – you might tell yourself you are entering a sovereign nation when you cross the reservation boundary but you aren’t. You’ll still be bound by the registry laws of whatever US state you’re in.
Nor should you get any funny ideas if you are of native ancestry that you can somehow escape your registry status by moving to the reservation of whatever tribe you belong to. You can’t. As you must already realize, the oppression of the registry will follow you onto the reservation whether you’re a visitor or become a resident. That’s why I have placed the registry laws of North & South Dakota at the beginning of this blog entry, rather than any tribal registry laws. They don’t exist.
Another point that must be clearly made to anyone planning to travel to Indian Country is that you are NOT going to a tourist attraction. This is not Pennsylvania Dutch Country where you as a tourist are invited to gawk at the locals driving their buggies and eat at an expensive smorgasbord. To the contrary, you are about to enter upon a place where quite frankly you don’t belong. Your visit is merely tolerated, and as far as I’m concerned that is as it should be.
Despite this lack of an invitation, however, on my road trip to the Dakotas I wanted to travel through as many reservations as I could squeeze into the time allotted. These included the following:
Crow Creek Lakota Tribe
Lower Brule Lakota Tribe
Oglala Lakota Tribe (Pine Ridge)
Crazy Horse Memorial and Cultural Center
Three Affiliated Tribes
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Nations
Spirit Lake Tribe
Standing Rock Lakota Tribe
Cheyenne River Lakota Tribe
Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center
Based on television news and documentaries, I think most first time visitors to First Nations reservations would expect to find widespread rural poverty. However, many reservation towns appear to be at least as prosperous as nearby equivalent off-reservation towns. This may be partly owing to the fact that the businesses in these reservation towns have not been overrun and killed off by suburbanization and predatory outside chain stores like Walmart or Olive Garden or Home Depot.
Instead, with the exception of a few Dollar Stores and convenience gas stations, you will find locally owned businesses and food co-ops serving local people. The towns I traveled through had almost no restaurants, and although the food stores often had prepared food counters inside them, don’t expect to find any interesting local cuisine there. It’s just the usual fried chicken, overcooked hot dogs on rollers and chips you would find anywhere else.
Apparently prosperous reservation towns I passed through included New Town (Three Affiliated Tribes), Fort Totten (Spirit Lake Tribe), Timber Lake and Eagle Butte (both Cheyenne River Lakota Tribe). If you’re looking for rural poverty try Lower Brule (Lower Brule Lakota Tribe).
Either way there is one thing that all these towns have in common, at least to my eye. They are exceedingly plain, almost devoid of any architectural adornment. Many if not most of the homes in these towns are manufactured housing, and the site built homes are also seemingly devoid of any architecture. Commercial buildings are mainly unembellished corrugated metal, often with dirt parking in front. Functional yes, and as I said often seemingly prosperous, but nothing more. No one is trying to impress you.
But yes, you will find plenty of casinos.
The rural lands on the reservations look about the equivalent of nearby off reservation lands, consisting of farms and ranches. Just don’t expect to see buffalo roaming anywhere because they’ve been long ago replaced by cattle just like everywhere else. Beef – it’s what’s for dinner.
The Native American Scenic Byway passes through the Cheyenne River Lakota Reservation, sometimes criss-crossing the Lewis & Clark Scenic Byway (remember – the Missouri River, the European invaders’ main highway, bisects both North and South Dakota). This scenic byway is absolutely stunning in its stark beauty. You’ll think you are driving through the set of Dances With Wolves … because you are.
One other point about reservation tourism – turn on your radio! Most First Peoples have their own radio stations these days, often NPR affiliates, and there is nothing like driving through the set of Dances With Wolves with authentic Native war chants blasting on the tube!
Lastly, notice that neither of the two cultural centers I visited on this trip – the Crazy Horse Memorial and Akta Lakota Museum – are on reservations. They are both definite must-sees for any reservation tourist, but the message of their locations is clear. Yes, we want to tell our side of the American story, and we’re quite ready to fill up the nearby interstate highways with billboards to lure you in, but aside from that we want nothing more than to be left in peace like we should’ve been in the first place.
The only historical monument I saw on Native land was Sitting Bull’s Grave, which is right near the boundary between the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Lakota reservation, fittingly in the middle of nowhere keeping guard over the Missouri River, a few miles from SD State Road 20.
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