Oglala Lakota
Pine Ridge is home to the Oglala Lakota who are members of a major Sioux division known as the Western or Teton Sioux. Pine Ridge has a tribal membership that totals 17,775. One third of the total population report Lakota as their first language.
The Black Hills are located in the center of the Great Sioux Nation. The Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota/Dakota people and today considered an important part of spiritual life.
The Pine Ridge Reservation is situated in southwestern South Dakota on the Nebraska state line, about 50 miles east of the Wyoming border. The total land area of the Pine Ridge reservation is 2.8 million acres with 1.7 million acres tribally or individually owned. The land is an integral part of the Lakota culture and the economic base of the reservation.