Oglala Sioux Tribe receives $35 million federal grant for high-speed internet

Pine Ridge is located in southwestern South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The town has a population just under 3,000 and is the headquarters of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight

The Oglala Sioux Tribe is receiving a boost in internet connectivity, thanks to a $35 million federal grant to develop high-speed access.

The move will benefit 3,300 people, 47 businesses, 55 farms and seven educational facilities across Bennett and Oglala Lakota counties on the Pine Ridge Reservation, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The funding will be allocated through the federal ReConnect Program and administered by Oglala Lakota Telecommunications.

Nikki Gronli oversees the department’s South Dakota rural development team.

“We’re creating more jobs because they’re expanding their telecommunications network and the entrepreneurship that comes with people having access to high-speed internet,” Gronli said.

The initiative is part of a broader investment totaling $58 million, targeting tribal communities in Nevada, Oklahoma and South Dakota to spur economic development and improve infrastructure.