Michael B. Jandreau, visionary leader of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, dies at 71

Michael B. Jandreau

"Michael B. Jandreau, the visionary leader of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in South Dakota for almost 40 years, passed away last month at the age of 71," Marshall Matz, an agricultural lawyer and former member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, writes for Agri-Pulse. "Known to all as 'Mike' he believed that Indian Tribes had to establish a private sector economy on the Reservations if they were to participate in the American dream."

"Under Jandreau's leadership, Lower Brule established a successful Farm Corporation and one of the most diverse and innovative economies of any Reservation in the Nation," Matz writes. "The Lower Brule Farm Corporation grows edible beans, has a commercial buffalo herd and is the largest producer of popcorn in the country. The farm has expanded to some 40,000 acres with 10,000 acres under irrigation. They sell popcorn nationwide to the major brands and also market under their own brand name 'Lakota Foods.'” (Read more)