The Economic Impact of Tourism in the Black Hill, Bad Lands region of South Dakota
by Marc Chaplin
Tourism in the Black Hills, Badlands region of South Dakota is one of the most booming industries in the area. With tourism opportunities like the begging burros of Custer State Park, and historical monuments like Mount Rushmore, there is no end to the economic revenue that tourism can bring. For the past 10 years, the amount of visitors and the money they spend has steadily increased. A number of jobs have been created just to support the tourism industry. Without tourism, South Dakota would lose 4 billion dollars just in visitor spending, and many businesses and homeowners would find it harder to live in South Dakota.
Custer State Buffalo Roundup and the impact it has on economics, Native Americans tribes, and bison health
by Arielle Von Der Heyde
Custer State Park was founded in 1914 and is located in South Dakota. The state park buffalo herd began in 1914 with 36 bison, and now currently between 1,300 and 1,500 animals. The Buffalo Round Up is an annual event which began in 1966 and draws large crowds of tourists. The Round Up (and its bison) intersects with local Native American tribes, local ranching operations, and the local economy; these intersections will be explored.
Great presentations, Marc and Arielle!
Marc, I enjoyed your use of humor and the fact that you used the burros as a lens through which economic activity in the region could be examined. Where did the burros come from, originally? You mentioned that Custer State Park has remained open through the pandemic. What might be some pros and cons of this?
Arielle, your presentation covered a lot of great information across a number of subjects, all intertwined with the Round Up. This should be the 55th year of the Round Up—any word on whether it’s still being held or not? In addition, can you give any more information on how riders are selected each year? Can you think of ways to make it more equitable/inclusive to local tribes? What are the potential confounding factors?
Again, great work! Thanks for your insightful contributions in class throughout the semester! I’m so sorry the trip isn’t happening and hope that you both get the opportunity to visit the area at some point.
Thank you Nancy! To answer your question, the burros of South Dakota were brought in out of state. I have tried looking up where they the Burro’s ancestors originally came from but came up with nothing. My best guess is they were brought from Africa, where Burros are native, and brought to the park. They were brought to the park to help tourists climb Harney Peak, according to an article by USA Today.
Some Pro’s that I can think of are that people get to come out and get some good ol’ healthy vitamin D, and the park and local communities gets some revenue to keep surviving. The Con’s is that it will encourage people to get out which could potentially spread Covid-19. I see this as unlikely though because they are visiting a large park with lots of space, so it is unlikely that people will be bunched up unless they chose to be, then at that point, they were doomed to begin with.
I am for sure going to visit South Dakota again. Might even prepare to reserve a camping spot now so that some friends and I can go camping and make new memories out there. Thank you for your amazing teaching! This entire experience has been awesome and incredible insightful.
Hello! Thank you Nancy for viewing my presentation and for the comment.
In regards to your question if the Roundup is still happening this year, I believe it is. Nothing that I have read have said that it is delayed or canceling, but this could always change.
In regards to your question about on how the riders are selected, they use a drawing system. People can sign up to ride in the roundup, and then ahead of time in person, the park pulls out 50 names randomly.
In regards to including Native Americans and making the round up more inclusive, I think the parks and state government could consider adding Lakota riders without including them into the random drawing. They could decrease the amount of volunteer riders by 10, and have those automatically go to the Lakota.
Lastly, in regards to confounding factors, I believe some might say that my suggestion above is not fair. The response might be that in order be fair for everyone, the Lakota should participate in the random drawing.
I would like to thank you for teaching this class! I learned a lot and definitely makes me want to go to South Dakota sometime in the future.
Thank you both for excellent presentations! Your visuals were very compelling and your delivery flowed smoothly. Well done!
With the exception of the Crazy Horse, incomplete and controversial monument, what struck me is the absence of Native Americans from the tourist areas of the Black Hills. Can you think of ways that the Lakota people may partake in more visible ways in the tourist attractions, thereby also benefiting from the economic returns of this industry? Are there particular reasons why this may not have happened so far?
Again, many thanks for stimulating presentations!
Hello! Thank you Nancy for viewing my presentation and for the comment.
In regards to your question if the Roundup is still happening this year, I believe it is. Nothing that I have read have said that it is delayed or canceling, but this could always change.
In regards to your question about on how the riders are selected, they use a drawing system. People can sign up to ride in the roundup, and then ahead of time in person, the park pulls out 50 names randomly.
In regards to including Native Americans and making the round up more inclusive, I think the parks and state government could consider adding Lakota riders without including them into the random drawing. They could decrease the amount of volunteer riders by 10, and have those automatically go to the Lakota.
Lastly, in regards to confounding factors, I believe some might say that my suggestion above is not fair. The response might be that in order be fair for everyone, the Lakota should participate in the random drawing.
I would like to thank you for teaching this class! I learned a lot and definitely makes me want to go to South Dakota sometime in the future.
Hello! Thank you for viewing my presentation and commenting.
In regards to thinking of ways that Lakota can partake in more visible ways, I think the first step would be to included them in the roundup. In my presentation, I described their history that they have in the area and the importance of the buffalo to them. By including the Lakota in the roundup, I think there would be an increased awareness of visitors of the Native Americans, and the role and history they had with the buffalo. Also, by having Lakota ride in their regalia, it may even attract more to the Roundup which would lead to having more economic gain.
I am unsure of why the Lakota have not been included in the Roundup before. In articles I read, there has been an effort by some Lakota to get included in the Roundup, but there is not a response from Custer State Park or the government of South Dakota.
There is an ongoing land dispute of the Black Hills between the Sioux Nation (including the Lakota Tribe) the US Government. Here is the link to the wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hills_land_claim
I know that wikipedia is not the most reliable source, but it gives a good overview of the land dispute.
I enjoyed these presentations very much. I think it is especially important that you helped educate your viewers on the contemporary injustice facing Native Americans. Of course most of us realize the tragedies Native Americans faced in the past, but the fact that they are not included in current economic opportunities on what is essentially their own land is probably largely unknown. Thank you for your efforts to highlight some of these issues. I wonder, also, if a name change for the park might be in the cards?
Hello! Thank you taking your time to watch our presentations and to commenting.
Before starting the research on the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup, I was unaware of how big of the scope of injustices that the Sioux Nation/Lakota Tribe have faced. I learned about the injustices of Native Americans in past history classes in high school, but I do not feel like there was enough importance put on it.
When researching for the Roundup, I did not find any articles or mentions of changing the park name. Of course, I could have overlooked something, and there is something in regards to changing the name.
Marc, I loved your enthusiasm for the South Dakota attractions! You could work as a tour guide because your interest in that area is contagious! I’m curious to know if you saw any downsides to the emphasis on tourism in that region. For example, have the ecological impacts been more positive or more negative? What about the impact on local populations, in addition to the availability of jobs (e.g., affordable housing or their sense of community)? I love to travel in the American West, and I often wonder about these questions.
Arielle, I loved the video at the beginning of your presentation and your honest evaluation at the end of both the positive and the negative impacts of the buffalo roundup. Good analysis! I was reminded again of the devastating impact that our decisions have when we devalue people (the Native Americans) and the local environment, including the animals in it (bison). As you pointed out, that devaluation continues to this day with the Native tribes. Thanks for explaining the difference between “buffalo” and “bison.”
Thanks to both of you for taking me, with your images and your commentary, to a region of the country which I like very much!
Hello! Thank you for taking time to watch our presentations, and for commenting! I am glad that you enjoyed my presentation.