RAPID CITY, S.D. û It may take a full-scale Marshall Plan to save the northern Plains tribes from falling further into an economic abyss.

It will take the full cooperation of the federal, state, local and tribal governments, plus a few billion dollars, to achieve that goal; and then the political will must be ready to support it, according to Plains tribal officials, business leaders and Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D.

ôThe best thing for the non-Indian is to have Indian people prosper,ö Johnson said.

Johnson, who is seated on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Appropriations Committee, held a listening session in Rapid City on April 21. Just two days earlier, he had unveiled an economic development agenda called the Hometown Prosperity Plan that included incentives for reservation development.

ôWe need a Marshall Plan,ö said Harvey White Woman, executive director of the Wawokiye Business Institute on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

ôThis country can send $2 billion a week to Iraq. That could rebuild our infrastructure,ö he said. ôThere are vast resources used in another country. Iraq had 60 percent unemployment and itÆs now down to 30 percent in seven months because of the money spent on the infrastructure,ö White Woman said.

The area hit hard by last summerÆs Hurricane Katrina will be rebuilt, but that could never happen in Indian country, according to Harold Frazier, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

ôTo me, some of the biggest barriers on Cheyenne River and other places [is that] there is really not an infrastructure to start or sustain a business. The cost is high.ö

The unemployment rate on Cheyenne River is listed as 60 percent; on Pine Ridge, depending on who is asked, it is about 80 percent. Most of the money earned on the reservation is federal and grant money: some $200 million per year. Eighty percent of that money leaves the reservation and shows up in the border towns and in the nearest larger community, Rapid City.

The Rosebud Sioux Reservation has the same problem, according to Chairman Rodney Bordeaux.

In Todd County, home to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, an estimated $185 million is generated per year, including government and non-government wages.

Bordeaux said that 84 percent of that income leaves the reservation. To stop the financial bleeding, Rosebud has made inroads to create an environment for entrepreneurs to establish businesses that could keep most of the money within the reservation boundaries.

As an example, Bordeaux said that $7 million is spent for groceries off the reservation and that a grocery store on the reservation would benefit the community to help recycle some of the money. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe has a casino and hotel, but they have reached the maximum income potential unless the casino is allowed to expand.

To get Congress or anyone else to listen, an overall identification of what infrastructure is available would be beneficial, tribal leaders asserted.

ôIt wonÆt be cheap,ö White Woman said. He said that at a recent meeting with IHS officials, who put in water and sewer systems, he learned they could not determine where many older lines were located.

The village of Pine Ridge is currently constructing a new wastewater treatment plant that is designed to accommodate 600,000 gallons. Three years ago, when it was proposed and designed, the village disposed of 250,000 gallons; but now, with an increased population and other demands on the system, the treatment plant will be pushed to the maximum when completed.

Johnson said he supported Sen. Byron DorganÆs attempt to put $1 billion into the budget for Indian country, but it was defeated along party lines. He added that it was a hard sell, and with more on the line for something like a Marshall Plan it would be beneficial to have the data.

ôWhat I said a few years ago, we need infrastructure,ö said Lyle Jack, Oglala tribal councilman and chairman of the Economic Development Committee. ôWe have no tax base and we need help with the infrastructure. Without help, we will not have true economic development.

ôThe federal government needs to pay attention to the first Americans,ö Jack said. ôIf the federal government wants to help provide the infrastructure and help the private sector, thatÆs the only way we will succeed.ö

Education and health care are also important elements to a healthy economy. Of the 10 poorest counties in the nation, four are in South Dakota and all located on American Indian reservations.

Proposed budget cuts that would eliminate funding for urban Indian health and cuts in the school construction budget have angered tribal and health care officials. Tribal officials in the Aberdeen Area recently negotiated the reduction in funding spent by the federal government in inherent expenditures in that area. The fund was reduced from $6 million to $2.2 million per year, which will allow the service units more funding for direct health care.

Pine Ridge needs another $3.7 million just to make it through the fiscal year, according to Cecilia Fire Thunder, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. She said that from a $7 million budget for contract health, $6 million is spent at Rapid City Regional Hospital with ambulance and airlift emergencies and specialists.

ôThat money is to enhance the economy of Rapid City,ö she said.

For all the complaints and finger-pointing at the federal government for not holding up its share of fiduciary responsibility for Indian country, some people admit Indian country must also bear responsibility.

ôWe need stability in tribal government with four-year terms, and we need accountability to show we can handle the money given to us,ö said Robert Cournoyer, chairman of the Yankton Sioux Tribe. ôThe federal faucet is drying up.ö

Johnson said there was enough money for health care and other obligations that the federal government has toward Indian country.

ôThere is no political will. People who make $1 million a year will get a tax cut of $42 million,ö Johnson said.