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Pierre Approaches CRST For Assistance With Jobs

Courtesy Cuny Communications

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is working with the City of Pierre to establish a plan that would assist tribal members in filling employment needs in the state’s capital. SDPB’s Jim Kent visited with the Mayor of Pierre and a Cheyenne River Sioux tribal spokesperson to learn more about joint plans to fill at least some of the city’s 600 job openings.

Mayor Laurie Gill admits she has high hopes for filling hundreds of jobs in the city of Pierre. Gill says she’s not aware of any other situation in the state where an off-reservation entity has gone directly to a tribe for assistance in filling job vacancies. But Gill adds that she believes in exploring all avenues to find a solution to a problem.

“One of the things that I was working on was the development of a workforce advisory council,” Gill comments. “And that would be a group of folks that would come together to talk about the issue of workforce in our area and try to find solutions to the barriers that might exist. And as I began working through that and talking about who might participate on that workforce development council…I started to realize that we needed tribal representation.”

Mayor Gill explains that like other areas in the state, the city of Pierre has more employment opportunities then it has available workers…whereas the problem on the Cheyenne River Reservation is just the opposite.

Credit Courtesy South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Ventures Program will assist interested job applicants in facilitating transportation to and from Pierre.

Eileen Briggs is director of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Ventures Program. For the past 10 years her department has focused on areas of development ranging from assisting 900 tribal members in getting their GEDs to education in personal finances and business.

“We have our own workforce needs here to meet,” Briggs observes. “So, I don’t think that we’re going to have…you know…be filling all of those, But it would be awesome for us to be able to help break down the barriers for families and individuals to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Briggs says it’s unusual for the tribe to receive interest from an off-reservation entity in filing employment needs.

“We don’t often have the mayor of Pierre or any of the local municipalities really coming to our reservation and sharing some of their needs and how we might be able to meet those,” Briggs explains. “Or vice-versa. So, I think it is unique. I think that one of the…the pieces that I’m really proud of is the work that we have done here on Cheyenne River to be ready for these kinds of opportunities.”

Briggs says the role of the Tribal Ventures Program involves assisting interested job applicants in facilitating transportation to and from Pierre along with child care, housing and other related needs.

Although the joint effort is still in the early planning stages, Mayor Gill says that job openings cover the spectrum of employment…in both the private and public sector from entry level positions to professionals.

Related links:

http://www.sioux.org/

http://www.pierre.sd.gov/