A mixed band of Miniconjou Lakota and Hunkpapa Sioux, led by Chief Spotted Elk, sought sanctuary at Pine Ridge after fleeing the Standing Rock Agency, where Sitting Bull had been killed during efforts to arrest him.

Members of the Oglala Lakota, the American Indian Movement and supporters occupied the town in defiance of federal and state law enforcement in a protest that turned into an armed standoff lasting 71 days.

[8] As more settlers and gold miners encroached upon the Black Hills, the Government determined it had to acquire the land from the Sioux, and appointed a commission to negotiate the purchase.

[12]In 1882, at the urging of Valentine McGillycuddy—the US Indian Agent at the Pine President Agency—President Chester A. Arthur issued an executive order establishing the White Clay Extension, an area of land in Nebraska extending 5 miles (8.0 km) south of the reservation's border and 10 miles (16 km) wide approximately perpendicular to the road leading north into the town of Pine Ridge on the reservation.

McGillycuddy lobbied for the buffer zone to prevent white peddlers from engaging in the illegal sale of "knives, guns, and alcohol" to the Oglala Lakota residents of Pine Ridge.

In 1887, when Congress enacted the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887—breaking up the reservations and allotting a 160 acres (65 ha) plot to the registered head of each family—the Whiteclay Extension was specifically exempted.

"Provided, That the said tract of land in the State of Nebraska shall be reserved, by Executive order, only so long as it may be needed for the use and protection of the Indians receiving rations and annuities at the Pine Ridge Agency.

[24] In 1942 the federal government took privately held Pine Ridge Indian Reservation land owned by tribal members in order to establish the Badlands Bombing Range of 341,725 acres (1,382.91 km2).

He was criticized for favoring family and friends with jobs and benefits, not consulting with the tribal council, and creating a private militia, known as the Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs), to suppress political opponents.

Visits by the U.S. senators from South Dakota, FBI agents and United States Department of Justice (DOJ) representatives, were attended by widespread media coverage, but the Richard Nixon administration was preoccupied internally with Watergate.

[32] More than 60 opponents of the tribal government allegedly died violent deaths in the three years following the Wounded Knee Incident, a period called the "Reign of Terror" by many residents.

On February 24, 1976, the body of Anna Mae Aquash, a Mi'kmaq activist and the most prominent woman in AIM, was found in the far northeast corner of the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Since 1999, activists from the Pine Ridge Reservation, AIM, and Nebraskans for Peace have worked to have beer sales shut down in nearby Whiteclay, Nebraska, a border town.

Whiteclay sells millions of cans of beer annually, primarily to residents from the reservation in South Dakota, where alcohol possession and consumption is prohibited.

The Nebraska legislature allocated funds in late 2010 for increased police patrols in Pine Ridge by the county sheriff's office, based 22 miles (35 km) away in Rushville.

The suit, Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Jason Schwarting, Licensee of Arrowhead Inn, Inc. et al, sought $500 million in damages for the "cost of health care, social services and child rehabilitation caused by chronic alcoholism on the reservation, which encompasses some of the nation's most impoverished counties.

The defendants listed in the suit are the following:[46][47] On August 14, 2013, voters voted to end prohibition and legalize alcohol, so the tribe can use the profits for education and detoxification and treatment centers.

[60] In a 2005 interview, Cecilia Fire Thunder, the first female president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, noted, "[Sixty-eight] percent of the college graduates on the reservation are women.

"[61] The reservation is governed by the eighteen-member Oglala Sioux Tribal Council, who are elected officials rather than traditional clan life leaders, in accordance with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

[dubious – discuss] The "historic agreement" was signed by Fire Thunder following approval by the tribal council, the Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman and State Attorney General Jon Bruning.

[73] The U.S. Congress supported Fire Thunder's tribal law enforcement initiative, earmarking $200,000 over two years to pay for the increased cost of OST police patrols in Whiteclay.

The population of Pine Ridge suffer health conditions, including high mortality rates, depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, malnutrition and diabetes, among others.

Peter Hill, a former elementary teacher at the reservation who speaks Lakota, started the early childcare language immersion program from his own basement, initially serving five students with crowdsourced funding.

[104] As an example of the money that goes outside the reservation to border towns, the owner of Whiteclay's grocery store, Arrowhead Foods, said he "did more than a million dollars in business last year, with an entirely Native American clientele.

They argue that if the tribe legalized alcohol sales, it could keep much of their people's wealth from flowing to Nebraska, allowing for such monies to instead be directed toward the reservation's economy and health care services and new projects like building a detoxification facility and rehab clinic.

Enterprises owned by the Oglala Sioux tribe include the Prairie Wind Casino, a Parks and Recreation Department, guided hunting, and cattle ranching and farming.

It continues to operate the paper as part of a media network; Indian Country Today features regular political coverage that notes the increasing number of Native Americans gaining office at the local and state levels.

[132] To emphasize the issue of Sioux sovereignty in land use, they publicly announced the first planting of industrial hemp seeds on April 29, 2000, on the 132nd anniversary of the signing of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, which established the reservation.

The Association believed production of industrial hemp-based concrete could help solve the severe shortage of suitable dwellings on the reservation, as it is a sustainable construction material, and work for the unemployed.

Lakota Solar Enterprises is active in education and training for the advancement of renewable and sustainable energy and technology with a focus of bringing employment opportunities to members of OST as well as other tribal nations throughout the United States.