Oyate Health says ‘Wopila’ to the community
Five years ago, on Sept. 17, 2019, the first Oyate Health Center opened its doors to the public.
Now in 2024, the Indigenous-led healthcare service has expanded and evolved into its own facility and is looking to give back to the community that's supported it.
"No one loves our community like our community, and no one understands our community like our community," said CEO and founder Jerilyn Church, Mnicouju Lakota.
On Sept. 17, Oyate Health and the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board joined together to bring bounce houses, Native-owned food trucks, face painting and education about services to the community that's helped it thrive.
From 2 to 7 p.m., community members were invited out for food, fun and free flu shots. Employees wore shirts saying "wopila" or thank you in Lakota, as a visible thank you to the community.
"We've always taken care of each other since back in the day. We never had modern medicine," said Ryman LeBeau, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe chairman and Great Plains Tribal Leader's Health Board president. "So doing this ourselves allows us to infuse and implement our culture, our spirituality, into healthcare. When we're practicing (our culture), we're being who we are and that's healing for us."
Oyate Health was officially created five years ago, but the story doesn't start there.
Under the management of the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board, Oyate Health was created by three Lakota tribes, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Oglala Sioux Tribe, but that's not exactly where the story begins.
In 2010, tribal citizens in Rapid City approached tribal leaders to voice their concerns on the quality of healthcare they received at Sioux San Hospital, an Indian Health Service-operated clinic on the former grounds of the Rapid City Indian Boarding School.
That year the Centers for Medicare and Medical Services found multiple standards of care violations in the hospital's emergency room, leading to sanctions and confirming the concerns of tribal citizens.
In 2014, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Rosebud Sioux Tribe began negotiations to take control of Sioux San. The tribes were successful and in 2019 the tribes opened Oyate Health.
Rather than depending on Indian Health Services to provide care, the three Lakota tribes decided to use their 638 contract, a reference to federal legislation that is also known as a self-determination contract, to take over and manage their own healthcare.
"We're flexing our sovereignty and providing healthcare for our people," LeBeau said. "It shows that we can do this at home too. We can provide for our people back on our reservations whether it's Eagle Butte, Pine Ridge or Mission. This is possible now."
In 2019, around 12,000 people utilized Oyate Health Center. Now nearly 23,000 people depend on Oyate Health for their healthcare, Church said.
"We still have people that are coming to Oyate who will drive from Pine Ridge or Cheyenne River because they know that they are going to get a higher quality of care," she said.
Services have grown to include behavioral healthcare, an in-house psychiatrist, a pharmacy, women's healthcare, and a pediatrician.
"It's a one-stop shop," Church said.
The health center employs over 370 staff members, over half of which are Indigenous, and the center plans to create 600 more jobs by 2026 becoming one of the largest employers in the region.
Any Native American eligible for Indian Health Service benefits can use the Oyate Health Center.
This story is co-published by the Rapid City Journal and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the South Dakota area.
Amelia Schafer is the Indigenous Affairs reporter for ICT and the Rapid City Journal. She is of Wampanoag and Montauk-Brothertown Indian Nation descent. She is based in Rapid City. You can contact her at .
Indigenous Affairs Reporter
