The Blizzards of 1997 have taken their toll on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota to the tune of $2 million in snow removal costs and untold costs to human and animal life.

Tribal Chairman Greg Bourland described conditions on the rural South Dakota reservation in a recent press release.

Bourland said, the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe is providing snow removal for ranches and farms regardless of race or tribal membership and praised the cooperation his tribe has received from the state and BIA officials.

"The relationship between the governor's office and the chairman's office has been superb," Borland said. "Governor Bill Janklow has worked tirelessly to help wherever possible in snow removal effort."

Bourland also praised the Bureau of Indian personnel but said the agency suffered from lack of equipment to help the trible. The BIA has had only one snowplow and one loader available due to the breakdown of aging BIA equipment, Bourland said.

Bourland said that the tribe has set up an emergency operations office that has been open 24 hours a day since severe weather first hit the reservation in early December. He said the Tribe has provided many services of residents of the reservation including a Rescue Rangers operation that has saved the lives of people in addition to providing ambulance services under the most extreme conditions.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, through the efforts of Cheyenne River Gas Company, has also provided fuel to whoever is in need.

"This has created a large charge account at the company," Bourland said, "But so far, no family has frozen due to shortage of propane." The tribe is also providing emergency wood, fuel oil, and is in the process of transporting coal to the reservation.

The Tribe has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to waive existing regulations regarding income guidelines for all reservation residents regardless of memberhip and has requested that all reservation residents receive a 90 day ration of USDA Commodities to help supplement their food stock. The tribe has also received some food from outside sources and is working closely with the Red Cross to distribute this food across the reservation, Bourland said. The Tribe also has need for emergency livestock feed.

The blizzards have cost the Tribe on the average of $25,000 per day just for snow removal and does not include the costs to the state, county or BIA, Bourland said. The tribe estimates it has spent in excess of $350,000 on the reservation cleanup so far and these costs do not include emergency labor and overtime, emergency rescue or command center costs. The propane company has charged in excess of $250,000 in propane to help people get through the storm, Bourland said.