South Dakota tribe purchases shuttered foster village, plans to reopen this year

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe purchased the Simply Smiles Children’s Village last month, allowing the tribe to reopen one of the few foster care villages in the state meant to serve Indigenous children.

Some Cheyenne River tribally enrolled children are placed in foster homes outside of the reservation, which can make it more difficult for the children to stay in touch with their cultural heritage and retain familial and community relationships. About 40% of state-licensed foster homes in South Dakota are located in the Sioux Falls area. As of September 2023, 165 Cheyenne River-enrolled children were in state custody.

That’s a form of “cultural genocide,” said Colt Combellick, who served as clinical coordinator for the village and is discussing returning to the village when it reopens under tribal ownership.

“If 11% of foster homes in South Dakota are Native American and there are 800 Native American children who need placement, that need isn’t being met,” Combellick told South Dakota Searchlight. “So why not the tribe run that and try to meet that need?”

In 2009, the tribe partnered with Simply Smiles, a nonprofit organization, to reduce the growing number of foster children being placed off-reservation. The nonprofit eventually built the 8-acre village in La Plant, allowing children to live in a family setting in houses with a licensed foster parent while using resources found in more institutional settings.

The village closed in March 2023. The hope is to reopen the village this year, said Madonna Thunder Hawk, a Lakota activist and member of a Cheyenne River grandmothers group.

“It’s a step forward,” Thunder Hawk said. “It’s important that we have child welfare within our tribal society — we need control over that. … We’ll open the doors to the children’s village and hopefully stop the flow of children into the South Dakota foster system.”

This purchase makes Cheyenne River one of the few tribal nations in the state and nation with a tribally run foster care village.

With ownership under the tribe, the village can be more reflective of the cultural needs of the families and children who live there, Combellick said. Some ideas include housing homeless elders inside the village and partnering with the school to house a tutoring operation.

The village can house up to 18 children and three caretakers, along with space for therapy, offices and other living spaces. Combellick added that the tribe hopes to build two more houses.

MarShondria Adams also is interested in returning as a foster parent and helping prepare potential foster parents for their role at the village. South Dakota historically has struggled to recruit Native American foster parents. The tribally owned foster village could remove that barrier.

“Opening with the tribe will be more culturally efficient and focus on the ways of life people already adhere to and want to see for both their children and elders,” Adams said. “The sacredness has been vocalized, seen, felt and heard.”

This story was originally published on SouthDakotaSearchlight.com.