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Hi everyone,
My husband may take a job with ihs in Eagle Butte sd. Would it be unreasonable to commute from Pierre sd to Eagle butte or would you recommend living elsewhere? What about living in Eagle Butte? Is there anywhere else you would recommend?
100 miles one way in all weather conditions? Then to live in Pierre? I'd say no. However, Gettysburg would be slightly more palatable. That would cut the commute in half. To the west there is Dupree and Faith. Housing isn't great in either place but it would be better than Pierre.
That whole area is riddle with very large ranches and/or farms. 30 years ago, those ranches had houses for their married employee's that they furnish with their jobs. With new advents of machinery and better management, most of those ranches and farms have about 20% of the number of employee's that they used to have. You might try some of the farm or ranch news papers, or magazines for rentals and possible get something a lot closer to Eagle Butte.
I know the big ranches around here have done just that, they have started renting out those places as a house with a few acres to have a horse. Usually if there is big barns, or equipment sheds, they keep control of those for the ranch, but they rent out the house, a couple of out buildings, and a few acres.
I'd live in eagle butte. I'm sure you can get dirt cheap real estate there. Living in the town you work in is so soothing. I love working and living in Brookings... and love that hy-vee is open 24 hours for those 2AM shopping trips.
I am curious about what those empty roads north of town on google maps are for. New subdivision? Unemployment there appears to be sky high.
To anyone that is still reading this for housing while working at the Eagle Butte new hospital facility be aware that housing is almost impossible to find. They desperately need medical personnel but doctor's and e/r personnel are treated on a different level than any other medical speciality. You can get housing from the hospital but they make it clear it is their right and their rules (some of which I object to admently). Should you be temporary or permanent, housing shouldn't be a problem, they have loads of brand new houses within walking distance to the hospital that are empty. If you come here hoping to find housing have a back-up plan or make it part of your contract. Then there is the issue of having visitor's. If you are a doctor, pharmacist, and probably PA or NP you will be assigned a single house for you and your spouse, if you are Native American and a member of a tribe the rules are different. If you are any type of "tech" they have duplex, dormitory style housing but there are never any promises that you will get a unit (single room in a 3 bedroom apartment, each sex having their own) and don't let anyone tell you anything different. If you are allowed one of the dormitory style housing rooms you are not allowed visitors, not even spouses at any time for any reason. They rent these units out as they do all housing but they reserve the right to enter at any time for an "inspection" as well as kicking you out in the freezing cold winter if they so choose. You will have absolutely no rights, no security (although anyone entering appears to have a very good reason such as fumigation (no, they don't have a "pest" problem any more than anywhere else, they just make sure that the housing that they have worked so hard to create is safe, clean and not being abused).
As for living in any other city or hotel, just forget it. The drive to Pierre is approx 100 miles of basically unpatrolled 2 lane highway and in the winter even a good 4 wheel drive SUV would have trouble making it. Yet Pierre is basically the closest city and the only place with any stores other than 2 local markets in Eagle Butte with a limited supply and a huge demand for products. To my knowledge there is no public transportation to Pierre. Pierre also boasts the closest airport with flights going to many different "hub" cities where you can catch another flight to your destination. It certainly isn't cheap to fly anywhere!
If you are not a registered member of a tribe you are the minority which seems strange to me as I always thought of Native American Indians as equal with the white population other than they bring in a unique heritage as do most people of a single origin. It is an experience to be here, unfortunately not a particularly happy experience when all is said and done. They have a horrible time getting personnel to staff their new hospital (to which I was a donor) yet the sad state that the once proud Indians have fallen is a tragedy to me. They desperately need outside help in every area of the hospital and a few other areas that keep the hospital running yet they make it very difficult to come in and be of any aide. The majority of cases are most probably diabetic treatment, knife and fist fights, exposure to the weather and the 3 saddest to me are neglected children and those that are addicted to various substances along with suicide attempts. They have schools as well as a private Christian School and scholarship programs but too many children are brought up surrounded by hopelessness and too few are encouraged to go to school at all let alone try and raise their lot in life.
Yet their is always hope and they need that hope. They were supposedly the first people on this land and they certainly left a rich and broad heritage that they should be proud of. Where as many Indian Reservations (I hate that term) find a source of income in offering casino's you won't find them near Eagle Butte, SD. The land doesn't allow much to grow on it without bringing in soil additives (better subscribe to a monthly fruit club as well).
But the very "outside help" they desperately need they chase away instead of offering them housing people have to fight with the IHS authorities to be allowed to stay at one of their unused buildings and they make no effort to help you adapt if you are here on a contract for a year or more. Medical considerations for non-Indian employees is also an issue you must consider. They will not treat you here at the hospital you work at. If you are a Veteran, there is a Clinic here and services in various parts of the state. If you aren't a member of an Indian Tribe or a Veteran Eagle Butte offers two medical clinics for everyone else. One works in conjunction with the VA, the other is private. These are only basic clinics and for anything beyond their equipment and abilities it is a 3+ hour r/t to St. Mary's in Pierre (or I suppose limited airlifting in emergencies but with the high winds it would make helicopters difficult to rely on much of the time).
All in all it confuses me. I never knew my ethnic background and never thought of it in dealing with others. We are all American's now and we began as a "melting pot" so why all the "this is mine because of something that happened long ago and was an admitted tragedy. I am deliberately leaving out the Navajo legal settlement for wrongful use of funds because that really doesn't affect the situation here. Not all Indian's are created equal or become equal. I had a room mate in college in the late 1970's in California State University, Long Beach who was 100% Native American Indian who had a full scholarship simply because she was a Native American Indian and she worked just as hard for her grades as I did for mine and she never made a much out of being a Native American Indian but she was there to learn to help her people learn that they could do something with their lives as well as taking back what she learned to help her people (something only I really knew as her room mate). She never tried to avoid being what she was, our room was decorated in her tribal symbols and other unique things, it certainly didn't bother me any more than it would sharing a room with someone who's ethnic background was Jewish, Irish, German, Asian, etc.
Bottom line is don't come without arranged housing. There are rentals but most "white" people that own them won't rent them out. The hotel's (all 2 of them) are ok for a night or 2. There is no other city with affordable housing within a reasonable distance. I have lived in Orange County, California and Los Angeles, CA and there the drive is just as long but it is traffic and it is safer with no real weather issues. I have lived in Oregon where the commute to work was usually also long due to lack of roads and highways going where you want to go and on the I-5 corridor there is seldom a weather issue. I have lived in a small county in NE Oregon that has a population of about Eagle Butte with limited medical services and limited shopping services but lots of cattle, buffalo and lots of certain fruits and veggie's. No one locks their cars or houses except maybe at night and the biggest threat is constantly having deer run out in front of your car or a wolf pack that has to be "put down" for attacking too much live-stock and a bear or 12 and a bobcat (animal). In Eagle Butte, SD they are their own worst enemies as are most areas where medical care is scarce. I just don't understand that at all. If your area needed medical help wouldn't you open your own homes to make them welcome? (OK, so I can't spell but I can type).
Brookings is far, far different than Eagle Butte. It is flat out dangerous if you don't live in IHS housing and yet it takes an act of multiple groups to get into the housing. In 2009 they built a new medical facility/rural hospital and with it they built a lot of housing (still vacant). Those are the roads you are seeing and I am laying in one of them. There is no 24 hr market and the one decent market can't keep enough food on their shelves. They are closed for those who want to shop early or late or in the middle of the night and really the only place to purchase household items and many food items is to drive 3-4 hours r/t to Pierre.
What I don't understand is why the areas that need the most "outside" help (either perm of contract) are so very impossible to work with? There are some wonderful communities that make you feel welcome immediately but if the community doesn't like what the hospital has done you become an automatic outcast for going in and helping out.
I see why Doctor's Without Borders works better than trying to keep rural hospitals going. Even the doctor's are resented because they want better ones or more specialists. You go out expecting to become a part of the community but depending upon the community you may find yourself stranded real fast.
Hey everyone! Thank you for your posts. It's very insightful. I have a few questions that I would really appreciated being answered.
I am a registered nurse and have been one for 5 years. I have a wide range of experience and currently work in a very critical field at Sanford in Sioux Falls. I feel like my experience would be very useful in a rural area, like Eagle Butte. Recently, I have been considering on working for IHS to help pay my student loan debt. But after reading these posts, I'm very conflicted.
Would working at the Eagle Butte Hospital be a mistake?
It's difficult to land one of the houses that were built for medical staff, despite having several that are vacant?
I am a member of the CRST- but have never lived on the reservation. Also, I don't have any ties to the community..... for argument sake. But I am aware of the extreme corrupt behavior of the tribal leaders and the mentality of many natives living on the reservation. I guess I just thought that working at the hospital would maybe be different. Was I too hopeful? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Hey everyone! Thank you for your posts. It's very insightful. I have a few questions that I would really appreciated being answered.
I am a registered nurse and have been one for 5 years. I have a wide range of experience and currently work in a very critical field at Sanford in Sioux Falls. I feel like my experience would be very useful in a rural area, like Eagle Butte. Recently, I have been considering on working for IHS to help pay my student loan debt. But after reading these posts, I'm very conflicted.
Would working at the Eagle Butte Hospital be a mistake?
It's difficult to land one of the houses that were built for medical staff, despite having several that are vacant?
I am a member of the CRST- but have never lived on the reservation. Also, I don't have any ties to the community..... for argument sake. But I am aware of the extreme corrupt behavior of the tribal leaders and the mentality of many natives living on the reservation. I guess I just thought that working at the hospital would maybe be different. Was I too hopeful? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Without family ties to the area it will be difficult at best.
The desire to help is noble. However, are you prepared for undesirable outcomes, disappointment and heartbreak?
If you are interested in working for IHS but are looking for an area with more amenities you could consider applying for a position at Sioux San, the IHS hospital in Rapid.
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