South Dakota is home to nine federally recognized Indian reservations: Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Flandreau Santee Sioux, Lower Brule, Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Lake Traverse (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), Standing Rock, and Yankton.1South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations. Nine Tribes Each is the homeland of Lakota, Dakota, or Nakota people, and each operates as a sovereign nation with its own constitution, courts, and land base. Two of the nine — Standing Rock and Lake Traverse — extend north across the state line into North Dakota.
Where the Nine Reservations Came From
The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie set aside all of present-day South Dakota west of the Missouri River, including the Black Hills, as the Great Sioux Reservation for the “absolute and undisturbed use and occupation” of the Sioux people.2National Archives. Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) After gold was found in the Black Hills, Congress passed the Act of March 2, 1889, which broke the Great Sioux Reservation into six smaller reservations.3Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. History Those six, together with reservations created through separate treaties and agreements, are the nine that exist today. That history explains why most of them sit in the central and western part of the state.
South Dakota’s constitution reflects the arrangement. Article XXVI disclaims state authority over Indian lands, declaring that reservation land “shall remain under the absolute jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the United States” until title is otherwise addressed by the federal government.4South Dakota Legislature. Constitutional Article 26-18 All nine tribes appear on the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ current list of federally recognized tribes.5Federal Register. Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs
Cheyenne River Reservation
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s reservation sits in Dewey and Ziebach counties, with the Missouri River forming its eastern boundary. At roughly 1.6 million acres, it is among the largest reservations in the country.6Federal Highway Administration. Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe – Tribal Transportation Headquarters are in Eagle Butte, and the tribe maintains one of the largest buffalo herds in the nation.
Crow Creek Reservation
The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe’s homeland spans parts of Buffalo, Hughes, and Hyde counties along the Missouri River. Fort Thompson, near the Big Bend Dam and Lake Sharpe, is the main community. Though smaller than some of the others, the reservation holds deep historical weight as a place where Dakota people were forcibly relocated during the 1860s.
Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation
Flandreau is the geographic outlier. It sits in Moody County in eastern South Dakota, the only reservation well east of the Missouri River and more than a hundred miles from the others. The land base is compact. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe operates the Royal River Casino and Hotel, a major employer for the community.
Lower Brule Reservation
The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe’s land runs along the west bank of the Missouri River in Lyman and Stanley counties, directly across from the Crow Creek Reservation. The Missouri’s dramatic Big Bend curves through the reservation, and the tribe has invested in agriculture and buffalo restoration.
Pine Ridge Reservation
Pine Ridge is the home of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and covers Oglala Lakota County, Bennett County, and parts of Jackson County in the southwestern corner of the state. It is one of the largest reservations in the United States. The Wounded Knee Massacre site, where U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children in 1890, lies within its boundaries. The tribe has pursued renewable energy, including a solar project through the Oglala Lakota Housing Authority to power low-income homes on the reservation.7Department of Energy. Oglala Lakota Housing Authority – 2022 Project
Rosebud Reservation
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s reservation lies in south-central South Dakota, centered on Todd County and reaching into parts of Gregory, Mellette, Lyman, and Tripp counties. The land ranges from rolling prairie to timbered canyons. Cattle ranching has long been central to the local economy, and the tribe regulates land use through its own code, designating agricultural zones where livestock farming is an allowed use.
Lake Traverse Reservation (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate)
This reservation in northeastern South Dakota spans parts of Roberts, Day, Marshall, Grant, and Codington counties. The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate’s largest community is at Sisseton. The reservation also extends into two counties in North Dakota, one of two South Dakota reservations that cross state lines.8Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. Home Its boundaries have been heavily litigated. In the 1975 case DeCoteau v. District County Court, the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain acts of Congress had disestablished portions of the original 1867 treaty boundaries, which has complicated questions of jurisdiction ever since.
Standing Rock Reservation
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation straddles the North Dakota–South Dakota border. Its South Dakota portion sits in Corson County and parts of Dewey and Ziebach counties, and the full reservation covers roughly 3,600 square miles across both states. The area near the confluence of the Grand and Missouri rivers is the birthplace of the Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull.9National Park Service. Sitting Bull – Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Standing Rock drew international attention during the 2016 protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, which crosses the Missouri River near the reservation’s water supply.
Yankton Reservation
The Yankton Sioux Tribe’s homeland is in Charles Mix County in south-central South Dakota, bordered by the Missouri River. Agricultural land dominates. The Yankton Sioux have long cultural ties to the Pipestone Quarry in southwestern Minnesota, where Indigenous peoples have quarried sacred red pipestone for thousands of years.
Sovereignty, Jurisdiction, and Who Enforces What
Each of the nine tribes is a sovereign nation, not a subdivision of the state. Every tribe has its own constitution, court system, and law enforcement, and that sovereignty predates the U.S. Constitution.
Criminal jurisdiction on a reservation depends on who committed the offense, who the victim is, and how serious it is. Major crimes committed by tribal members on reservation land, including murder, kidnapping, arson, burglary, and robbery, are prosecuted federally under the Major Crimes Act.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1153 – Offenses Committed Within Indian Country Tribal courts handle many other offenses involving tribal members. Crimes committed by non-members against non-members on reservation land fall under South Dakota state jurisdiction.
Some reservations have their own tribal police departments funded through contracts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, while others rely on BIA-operated programs. Cross-commissioning is common, letting tribal officers enforce federal law and federal officers work alongside tribal police. Across Indian Country nationally, about 78 percent of BIA-funded law enforcement programs are tribally operated.
Visiting a Reservation
Non-members can visit most South Dakota reservations, but a reservation is not public land. Each tribe sets its own access rules. Hunting and fishing on tribal land require a tribal permit no matter what state license you hold. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, for instance, requires all hunters and anglers over 16 to carry a valid tribal license and appropriate tags, and reserves the right to deny a permit at its discretion. Other reservations have similar rules.
Cultural and ceremonial sites may be restricted or require specific permission to enter. Before hunting, fishing, or camping on any reservation, contact the tribe’s natural resources or fish and game office. Tribal regulations carry the force of law on reservation land, and a South Dakota state license does not authorize activity on tribal territory.
How the Nine Sit on the Map
The reservations cluster heavily in central and western South Dakota, a direct legacy of the Great Sioux Reservation’s original footprint west of the Missouri River.11South Dakota State Historical Society. Great Sioux Reservation When Congress divided that territory in 1889, the resulting reservations stayed inside the western footprint. Flandreau in Moody County is the exception, well east of the river and more than a hundred miles from any of the other eight. Standing Rock and Lake Traverse cross north into North Dakota, so their tribal governments coordinate across two state jurisdictions while remaining single sovereign nations.