The Oglala Sioux Tribe

The Oglala Sioux Tribe is a federally recognized tribe, in accordance with Section 16 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, and as adopted by a federally approved Constitution and By-Laws, approved on December 20, 1935. 

We are the Oglala, meaning “to scatter one's own,” and are one of the seven Titowan Lakota bands which comprise the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). 

Our treaty land base, created in 1868 by the Treaty of Fort Laramie – the Great Sioux Reservation –originally covered all the area west of the Missouri River in South Dakota, part of northern Nebraska, and part of eastern Montana. 

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was established in 1889 by the United States’ unilateral disestablishment and partition of the Great Sioux Nation. We have never relinquished our claim to the entire Great Sioux Reservation, including the sacred Black Hills (He Sapa).

Our Reservation covers approximately 3 million acres (roughly the size of Connecticut) and our nation has more than 45,000 enrolled citizens. Thus, the Oglala Sioux Tribe is responsible for a large area over which it has authority and control. The Oglala Sioux Tribe’s treaty rights and unique political relationship with the United States are set forth in a series of treaties through 1868, including the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 (11 Stat. 749) and the 1868 Sioux Nation Treaty (15 Stat. 635). 

Due in part to our remote location, there are few opportunities to develop a local economy or job opportunities for our people. The lack of good roads, reliable communications systems, and other necessary infrastructure further impedes economic development, job creation, and a good quality of life on our Reservation. These circumstances also contribute to the many social challenges that our people currently face, which include extreme poverty, alcohol and substance abuse, inadequate health care, and high crime rates. 

But where we struggle with these modern ills, we remain rich in culture and language. The Oglala Lakota have a long strong warrior lineage which continues to this day. We have large concentrations of traditional Lakota speakers, host many Lakota immersion schools and cultural preservation movements, and are home to many of our Lakota oyate’s spiritual leaders, ceremony and knowledge keepers.