How one Native American tribe in S.D. created its own wireless education network

  • The Lower Brule Indian Reservation, outlined in purple, is located in a scenic but remote region of central South Dakota, with the main city of Lower Brule located about 60 miles southeast of Pierre. Photo: Bart Pfankuch, South Dakota News Watch
    The Lower Brule Indian Reservation, outlined in purple, is located in a scenic but remote region of central South Dakota, with the main city of Lower Brule located about 60 miles southeast of Pierre. Photo: Bart Pfankuch, South Dakota News Watch
  • Boyd Gourneau, former chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, brought together people and ideas to help build a local wireless network that will aid in delivery of remote education but also in bettering the lives of all residents of the tribe. Photo: Courtesy Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
    Boyd Gourneau, former chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, brought together people and ideas to help build a local wireless network that will aid in delivery of remote education but also in bettering the lives of all residents of the tribe. Photo: Courtesy Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
Editor’s note: This article was produced through a partnership between South Dakota News Watch and the Solutions Journalism Network, a national nonprofit group that supports rigorous journalism about responses to problems. A South Dakota Native American tribe has solved one of the biggest challenges facing tribal schools amid the deadly COVID-19 pandemic by developing a plan to provide computers…

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