Minnesota Tribe Helps Others During Propane Crisis

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Donations from an American Indian tribe in Minnesota totaling nearly $1.4 million have helped tribes in the Great Plains deal with a winter propane crisis.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community provided grants to the Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota and South Dakota; the Yankton, Rosebud and Cheyenne River Sioux in South Dakota; and the Santee Sioux in Nebraska.

A nationwide shortage of propane over the winter pushed up the price of the fuel to the point where many reservation residents couldn't afford it. The problem was particularly acute on Standing Rock, where about 5,000 homes on the 3,600-square-mile reservation rely on the fuel for heat.

The Shakopee tribe runs a charitable grant program. Chairman Charlie Vig says officials felt compelled to help fellow tribes get through the winter.