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Native American Tribes of South Dakota

Welcome to our South Dakota State Facts section, part of an educational project designed to provide information about indigenous people in different U.S. states. Follow the links to the right of our tribal map for more information about the language, culture and history of each South Dakota tribe, or scroll below the map for South Dakota Indian activities including a wordsearch, fact sheets, and words from the Native American languages of South Dakota. Feel free to print any of these materials out for classroom use!

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American Indians in South Dakota

Did you know the name "South Dakota" comes from a Siouan Indian word? Dakota is the tribal name of the Dakota Sioux people, meaning "friendly" or "allied." The Dakota Indians were not the only native people of this region, however.

The original inhabitants of the area that is now South Dakota included:

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The Arikara tribe

The Cheyenne tribe

The Lakota and Dakota Sioux

The Ponca tribe

There are eight federally recognized Indian tribes in South Dakota today.

A ninth tribe, the Standing Rock Sioux, is headquartered in North Dakota but has tribal lands on both sides of the North-South Dakota border.

Here are the addresses of South Dakota's Indian reservations:

South Dakota tribes today

1 Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council:
P.O. Box 590
Eagle Butte, SD 57625

2 Crow Creek Sioux Tribe:
P.O. Box 50
Fort Thompson, SD 57339

3 Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe:
P.O. Box 283
Flandreau, SD 57028

4 Lower Brule Sioux Tribe:
P.O. Box 187
Lower Brule, SD 57548

5 Oglala Sioux Tribe:
P.O. Box H
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
www.oglalalakotanation.org

6 Rosebud Sioux Tribe:
P.O. Box 430
Rosebud, SD 57570
https://www.rosebudsiouxtribe-nsn.gov

7 Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe:
P.O. Box 509
Agency Village, SD 57262

8 Yankton Sioux:
P.O. Box 248
Marty, SD 57361

9 Standing Rock Sioux Tribe:
Bldg. #1 N Standing Rock Ave.
P.O. Box D
Fort Yates, ND 58538
https://www.standingrock.org

Teaching and learning activities about South Dakota Native Americans:

Feel free to print these out to use at school!

South Dakota Tribes Word Search: Printable puzzle hiding the names of South Dakota's Indian tribes.

South Dakota Language Greetings: Learn to say "hello" in several Native South Dakota languages.

South Dakota Native Animals: Learn the Native American names of South Dakota animals.

South Dakota Indian Facts for Kids: Answers to frequently asked questions about the tribes of South Dakota.
We currently have pages for the Arikara, Cheyenne, Ponca, and Sioux tribes.

Recommended books about South Dakota Native Americans
(Our organization earns a commission from any book bought through these links)

Storytelling Time: Coffee-table book of art and history from the tribes of North and South Dakota.

South Dakota Indians: Introducing South Dakota's Native American history and culture to kids.

Sioux: This is a very good book on the Dakota Indians for kids and teens.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: Unmissable history of South Dakota's Wounded Knee massacre and events leading up to it.

Daughters of Dakota: Stories of friendship between settlers and Sioux Indians in South Dakota.

Lakota Woman: Autobiography of Native South Dakota activist Mary Brave Bird.

My Life Is My Sun Dance: Prison writings from controversial Oglala Sioux activist Leonard Peltier.

Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region Handbook of herbs, food crops, and plant lore among the prairie tribes.

Other resources about American Indian history, culture and society in South Dakota state:

South Dakota Reservations:
Map and profiles of the South Dakota Indian tribes.