The Lakota name Sicangu Oyate translates as the "Burnt Thigh Nation", also known by the French term, the Brulé Sioux.

It was established when the Spotted Tail Indian Agency territory extended to the banks of Rosebud Creek near its confluence with the Little White River.

Saint Francis, with a current population of about 469 (2020 census).,[4] is the largest incorporated town in South Dakota without a state highway for access.

[citation needed] Located on the Great Plains, just north of the Nebraska Sandhills, Rosebud Indian Reservation has large areas of Ponderosa Pine forest scattered in its grasslands.

Major employers include Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Todd County School District.

Power for the casino is furnished in part by one of the nation's first tribally owned wind turbines, which generate electricity.

In the early 21st century, the tribe built a new residential development, Sicangu Village, along Highway 83 near the casino and the state line.

[5] Like numerous other Native American tribes, the Rosebud government decided to legalize alcohol sales on the reservation.

It can directly police and regulate the use of alcohol on the reservation in an effort to reduce abuses, and has established health programs for treatment.

[7] Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST) re-established self-government.

It followed the model of elected government: president, vice-president, and representative council, adopted by many Native American nations.

At times political factions have developed and continued along ethnic and cultural lines, with full-blood Sioux following traditional ways.

In addition, BIA officials and police retain roles on the reservations, which the historian Akim Reinhardt calls a form of "indirect colonialism".

Five babies were born in ambulances en route to the nearest hospitals -50 miles away- and nine people died during emergency transport to other health facilities.