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Commerce. By teaching front-line tourism staff about the reservation, officials hope it will help drive tourists to the area.
• "The biggest question we get here is, 'Is it safe to visit the reservation?'" Sorbel said, adding that many people associate Pine Ridge with gang-related violence. "What we're trying to do is shed that image and shine a new light."
• A major focus of the training will be outlining the reservation's Department of Public Safety, as well as fire and ambulance services, so tourists know they have resources and will be safe when visiting, Sorbel said. Information for

tourists about Lakota history and proper etiquette in certain situations -- like not taking photos during religious ceremonies -- also will be taught.
• The training is one of many programs under way as the Oglala Sioux tribe focuses on building its tourism. Tribal officials hope increasing the number of visitors to the reservation will fuel the economy and create desperately needed jobs among residents. The reservation is one of the poorest areas in the nation and unemployment hovers around 80 percent.
• "Ten years ago we weren't able to market the reservation to tourists -- there was no place to sleep, eat and go to the bathroom," Sorbel said.
• Now, he added, that's slowly changing with the building of hotels like the Lakota Prairie Ranch Resort in Kyle and the Prairie Wind Casino located on the western edge of the reservation in Oglala.
• One staff member excited about the summer is M.J. Bull Bear, the supervisor of the White River Visitors Center at the Badlands' South Unit. The White River Visitors

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