Yankton Daily Press
Friday, March 26, 2004
BY Randy Dockendorf
WAGNER -- As South Dakota prepares to host a national signature event, the Yankton Sioux Tribe and area communities have reaffirmed their partnership on projects for the Lewis and Clark bicentennial coammemoration.
As part of the cooperative effort, the Wagner Chamber of Commerce and the Yankton Sioux Tribal Tourism Committee co-sponsored Thursday a Lewis and Clark Conference at the Wagner Armory. The event brought together communities along the Missouri River corridor where the explorers traveled together.
The Alliance of Tribal Tourism Advocates (ATTA) is coordinating the signature event, expected to draw tourists from around the world. The event kicks off with an art auction Aug. 26-27 at Chamberlain and Oacoma, then continues for a month with tribal tour packages including a Sept. 11-13 visit to the Yankton Sioux and Santee Sioux reservations.
Tribes and communities are encouraged to sponsor events tying in with the Lewis and Clark commemoration through 2006. For example, the Yankton Sioux Tribe will hold its annual traditional wacipi at Lake Andes .
The tours should be considered an educational journey, said ATTA executive director Daphne Richards-Cook.
"Tour buses take visitors to the reservation where we can tell our stories. We don't just educate the public but also future generations," she said. "We tell about the beauty of the land and people. And by taking control of the tours, we can teach respect at sacred sites and powwows."
ATTA has partnered with the Native American Scenic Byway, and tourists can choose from 14 different seven-day packages, Richards-Cook said. An ATTA tour can accommodate 20 people on a bus.
"You can go one day with each tribe or seven days with one tribe," she said. "At the end of the day, we will have a powwow by that tribe. We will get all different tour guides, so it's an opportunity for a diverse experience."
But drawing tourists will mean luring them off the interstate highways and along the Lewis and Clark Trail, said Robert Cournoyer, president of ATTA and the Yankton Sioux Tribal Tourism Advocates (YSTTA).
"Lewis and Clark didn't travel to Sioux Falls or Rapid City . They traveled the river down here, just a few miles away (from Wagner). By traveling the trail, it gives you the feeling of that time," he said.
"When you are going on the interstate, you miss all the beauty and the history we have in South Dakota . We need to promote ourselves."
American Indians and their neighbors must work together not only on tourism but in everyday life, Cournoyer said. Thursday's conference was a big step forward in promoting reconciliation, Cournoyer said.
"Even if we aren't big in numbers, whatever we do will be successful because we have our heart in it," he added.
The Lewis and Clark bicentennial has opened new dialogue among area residents of all races, said Linda Soukup, chairwoman of the Wagner Chamber of Commerce.
"Two hundred years later, we are still learning how to live together and work together," she said.
The young generation will play a key role in the Yankton Sioux signature event at Greenwood , said YSTTA director Sherwyn Zephier. The Morning Star Community Theater, which includes a number of young people, will re-enact the Aug. 29, 1804 , meeting of Lewis and Clark with the Yankton Sioux.
"Our Morning Star Community Theater won the OBig Dream Contest' sponsored by Oprah Winfrey," Zephier said. "We finished first out of 1,600 entries, and OO' magazine sent us directors and acting coaches. It was an incredible experience."
The Greenwood site stands to gain a major boost with a proposed interpretive center, said Eric Ambroson of the District III Planning and Dev elopment office in Yankton. The center could receive funding from the tribe's $150,000 revolving loan fund, and District III has offered technical support, he added.
"The tribe has applied to the state Department of Transportation for a place on the Native American Scenic Byway," he said. "The tribe is also talking about building a visitors' center on the highway by the Yankton Sioux travel plaza. We are also checking into proposals for private businesses."
The Lewis and Clark projects have energized the entire region, Richards-Cook said. She noted programs on Spirit Mound by the W.H. Over Museum in Vermillion and possible work with the Boy Scout camp near Tabor.
ATTA officials are meeting with federal officials today (Friday) at the Fort Randall Casino to discuss safety, health and law-enforcement issues surrounding the signature event and tours, Richards-Cook said.
ATTA officials will also meet July 16 with the American Indian commissioner for the state of Nebraska , Richards-Cook said. "We would like to get the Santee Sioux involved with this (commemoration) and are meeting with their tribal officials," she said.
The tours could raise $343,000 in package charges if the buses are totally booked, Richards-Cook said. But the cultural and economic impacts will be felt throughout the areas visited by tourists, she said.
"We want to improve the economy here. In turn, we are teaching our children about our history and our story. The focal point is that we preserve our culture," she said.
"We have seen tremendous interest in the commemoration. A travel agency from Africa has even contacted me. The more we work (together), the stronger the package becomes. We come together like a puzzle."
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