The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota has declared a drought emergency for the Pine Ridge Reservation.

President John Yellow Bird Steele cited record heat and a lack of rain, the Associated Press reports. He's said tribal members need fans and air conditions and farmers and ranchers need assistance to cover crop losses.

More than half of the country was under moderate to extreme drought in June, the largest area of the contiguous U.S. affected by such dryness in nearly 60 years, The New York Times reports.

Get the Story:
Oglala Sioux Tribe declares drought emergency (AP 7/19)
Widespread Drought Is Likely to Worsen (The New York Times 7/20)