The 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.

Monica Terkildsen, a consultant with the Oglala Parks and Recreation Authority, said the reservation has plenty to promote.

"I think we have some of the most unique areas, where people want to visit," she said. "There's history here, but nothing for visitors to see and read."

The byway system would include signed routes delineated on maps that would be available to visitors. Scenic and educational stops along the way would inform visitors about the reservation, the tribe, its history and culture in a sensitive and respectful way, Terkildsen said.

With the plan and the byways system, the Oglala Tribe intends to join other tribes in South Dakota who are working to promote the aesthetics and history of their lands as well an international interest in the Native American culture on the northern plains.

The scenic-byways idea has already produced an established route through the Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, Lower Brule and Crow Creek reservations, as well as tribal land owned by the Yankton Sioux Tribe in southeast South Dakota.

The Native American Scenic Byway wanders through more than 400 miles of Missouri River country in South Dakota, from Kenel in the north to Running Water in the southeast.

The route is signed and promoted and already attracting travelers, but tribal-tourism representatives say they are just beginning to develop its potential as an educational and marketing tool.

Denelle High Elk, byway leader for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said the long-range plan is to use the scenic-highway system to attract bus tours and general tourist traffic. But first, the reservations involved need to develop a network of coordinated cultural events and tribal artists and entrepreneurs to provide entertainment, education and high-quality merchandise to the visitors, High Elk said.

"Sure, we can get 30 buses in a week or whatever, but if we're not ready, how will they experience what we've got here?" she said. "We need to get the resources together. People in tours need to know what they're paying for and what to expect. We need to educate our own people on why we are doing this and what we hope to accomplish."

High Elk said tourism promoters on the reservations are "walking a fine line," between encouraging tourism and economic development and offending some traditional people on the reservations. It's important for promoters to protect cultural values as they inform, educate and entertain visitors, she said.

"You want to bring people here to experience our diverse culture, but we also need to protect our stories, our ceremonies, our culture," High Elk said. "We want a quality program and experience."

High Elk is part of the Alliance of Tribal Tourism Advocates, an association of tribal-tourism interests that will bring in a tour group from Europe next summer. The organization will host the foreign visitors from their arrival in Sioux Falls up through the Flandreau and Sisseton tribal lands in northeast South Dakota, west to Standing Rock and down through Cheyenne River and Pine Ridge on the way to the Black Hills.

The group will use existing portions of the tribal byway system on the other reservations, as well as routes on Pine Ridge that are likely to be included in that tribe's system. High Elk said the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is interested in developing its own scenic-highway system as well.

The idea has great promise for the Lakota tribes of western South Dakota, as well as for tourism here in the west in general, Black Hills, Badland & Lakes Association President Bill Honerkamp of Rapid City said.

Having a known route established makes visitors more likely to travel the sweeping reservation and stay in the area longer, Honerkamp said. That might especially be true of area and regional residents, who often have surprisingly little experience or knowledge of reservations that are within a few hours' drive from their homes, he said.

"I have to say that outsiders often seem much more at home on the reservation than South Dakotans do," Honerkamp said. "Does it make it easier? Yes, a route gives an idea and facilitates a plan to see some of the things on the reservation. And that's a good thing."

Honerkamp said western South Dakota reservations and Lakota culture are particularly intriguing to foreign visitors, who tend to be less enthralled than American travelers by well-known tourism destinations like Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

"The Native American culture probably means more to those (foreign) travelers than Mount Rushmore does," Honerkamp said. "The Sioux are probably the archetype, the ultimate American Indian for those visitors, by reputation and general knowledge of the culture and history. So I think it's a wonderful resource that's just not well used."

The byways program on the Pine Ridge reservation, along with the federal grant to establish it, will try to put that resource to work for tribal people, Terkildsen said. And it can be done in conjunction with the focused education of visitors about issues such as "the true and accurate story about Wounded Knee and the badlands and what they mean to the Oglala people."

In announcing the federal grant, Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., said the byways program was loaded with potential to benefit the reservation and elevate understanding of its importance.

"The tribal scenic byway will not only provide a glimpse of the sort of beautiful scenery and wildlife that South Dakota has to offer, but also give residents and visitors and opportunity to educate themselves on the contributions Indian Country has made throughout history," Johnson said in a prepared release.

The South Dakota Office of Tourism is already working with tribes statewide about tourism projects of mutual interest, media and public-relations manager Wanda Goodman of Pierre said. The demand for a reservation experience is strong among travelers, including writers for newspapers and magazines, Goodman said.

"It's just a completely different world than what many people are used to," she said. "We're seeing a huge interest in that experience."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com