Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota
Oglala Lakota County | |
|---|---|
Indian Health Service Hospital in Pine Ridge on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, November 2011 | |
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota | |
South Dakota's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 43°22′0.215″N 102°33′41.349″W / 43.36672639°N 102.56148583°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | South Dakota |
| Founded | January 11, 1875 |
| Named after | Oglala Lakota people |
| Seat | None (de jure) Hot Springs (de facto) |
| Largest community | Pine Ridge |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,096.352 sq mi (5,429.53 km2) |
| • Land | 2,093.601 sq mi (5,422.40 km2) |
| • Water | 2.751 sq mi (7.13 km2) 0.1% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 13,672 |
• Estimate (2024) | 13,360 |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | At-large |
| Website | oglalalakota.sdcounties.org |
| Hot Springs in neighboring Fall River County serves as administrative center for county | |
Oglala Lakota County (known as Shannon County until May 2015) is a county in southwestern South Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,672. Oglala Lakota County does not have a functioning county seat; Hot Springs in neighboring Fall River County serves as its administrative center. The county was created as a part of the Dakota Territory in 1875, although it remains unorganized. Its largest community is Pine Ridge.
The county lies entirely within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and contains part of Badlands National Park. It is one of five South Dakota counties entirely on an Indian reservation.
The county is named after the Oglala Lakota, a band of the Lakota people. Many of the county's inhabitants are members of this sub-tribe.
Reservation poverty affects the county, which is the poorest county in the United States (only 28 county-equivalents in the U.S. territories are poorer). Oglala Lakota County is the only dry county in South Dakota.
The newspaper for Oglala Lakota County is The Lakota Country Times.