OST to establish tourist routes

Scenic highways to help tribal economy, improve understanding

Federal grant helps Oglala planners join tribal byways networkThe lonesome roads of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation could one day lead tourists to a better understanding of the Native American culture, history and landscape.

They could help drive economic development for members of the financially troubled Oglala Sioux Tribe, as well.

The tribe's Parks and Recreation Authority has been awarded a $120,320 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help tribal officials begin a program to establish a scenic-byways system on the reservation, a starkly beautiful landscape of sweeping grasslands, rugged badlands and sporadic woods of pine and cedar covering all of Shannon County and half of Jackson County.