Prior Lake, Minn. – The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community today announced a grant for $415,000 to the Yankton Sioux Tribe of Marty, South Dakota. This grant is part of the SMSC’s most recent round of more than $10 million in grants awarded to 18 American Indian tribes in eight states.

The Yankton Sioux’s health program will receive the most funding from this grant at $180,000, which will help purchase a modular unit capable of holding eight kidney dialysis chairs and nine dialysis machines. (An extra dialysis machine is required to ensure continuity of service.) This will be an addition to the dialysis unit at the Wagner Indian Health Service building and will help improve the quality of life for dialysis patients on the Yankton Sioux Reservation.

American Indians experience diabetes and kidney disease at a higher rate than the general population. Diabetes patients with end-stage kidney disease undergo dialysis or hemodialysis, which uses a machine to filter their blood to rid the body of harmful wastes, extra salt, and water. Often required up to three times a week for three to five hours each time, dialysis can be physically exhausting and emotionally draining. If a patient has to be transported an hour each way, this can further complicate their lives.

Since 2001 the SMSC has provided more than $10.2 million in grants to the Yankton Sioux Tribe. That includes $250,000 in previous support of four dialysis chairs. Unfortunately, the volume of patients continues to grow, and some patients travel an hour each way up to three times a week to dialysis locations in Yankton, Mitchell or Gregory. Other SMSC grants have assisted with community improvement, infrastructure growth, economic development, customer service training, vehicles, and furnishings.

Other Yankton Sioux Tribe initiatives funded by the SMSC grant for fiscal year 2013 include:

$100,000 for land purchases near the tribal community of Lake Andes and nearby Ravinia. This land will be used to grow hay for the tribe’s buffalo herd.
$70,000 for the tribe’s buffalo project. The tribal herd of 169 buffalo grazes on land near the Missouri River.
$55,000 for a feasibility study of a new tribal hall to replace the hall damaged by flooding in 2011. It is hoped that the new facility, planned for across from the tribe’s Fort Randall Casino, will be able to house all tribal programs within one building. Currently the programs are spread out across the reservation.
$10,000 for the Marty Boys & Girls Club, which serves 225 youth in grades 1-12 from two schools.

Known as the “Ihanktonwan Dakota Oyate” or “People of the End Village,” the Yankton Sioux Tribe has lands along the Missouri River in Charles Mix County, just across the river from Nebraska. Tribal headquarters are located at Marty, also home to the Marty Indian School. Of the 12,246 tribal members, about a third of them live on the 43,000-acre reservation.

About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is a federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe located southwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul. With a focus on being a good neighbor, good steward of the earth, and good employer, the SMSC is committed to community partnerships, charitable donations, a healthy environment, and a strong economy. The SMSC and the SMSC Gaming Enterprise (Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Little Six Casino) are the largest employer in Scott County. Out of a Dakota tradition to help others, the SMSC has also donated nearly $272 million since 1992, including more than $152 million to other tribes, tribal organizations, and American Indian causes.