PIERRE — Crow Creek Tribal Chairman Peter Lengkeek asked lawmakers on Thursday to partner with South Dakota’s nine tribes to solve a long list of problems that plague both the reservations and small towns off the reservation.

Lengkeek, speaking to a joint Legislature in the annual State of the Tribes’ Address, called Thursday a day of opportunity to unite all South Dakotans.

“Fortifying this relationship is imperative for all South Dakotans,” he said.

A Marine Corps veteran, Lengkeek won election as Crow Creek’s chairman in 2020.

“Chairman Lengkeek is passionate about his tribe and his country,” said Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, who introduced Lengkeek to the Legislature.

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