Abbreviated as SD on abbreviationfinder.org, South Dakota ( English pronunciation [ ˌsaʊ̯θ dəkʰoʊ̯ɾə ] ) is one of the northwestern plains – states of the United States . It covers 199,731 km². To the west are the Black Hills , to the east the Badlands and to the east of the state the Coteau des Prairies . The largest city is Sioux Falls , the capital is Pierre . South Dakota is home to several Indian reservations , particularly the Lakota. The state has to Alaska and within the USPlease click to listen!PlayNew Mexico has the third highest population of Indians .
The name Dakota is derived from the Dakota who lived in this area before the submission by European migrants . South Dakota’s nickname is The Mount Rushmore State .
History
The Dakota Territory was a territory of the United States. In 1889 it was divided into a northern and a southern half. These areas, North Dakota and South Dakota, were added to the United States as the 39th and 40th states.
On December 29, 1890, the Seventh US Cavalry massacred over 300 men, women and children of the Minneconjou , Lakota and Sioux under Chief Si Tanka at Wounded Knee . This massacre broke the last resistance of the Indians against the whites. On February 27, 1973 members of the American Indian Movement, together with sympathizers from the Pine Ridge reservation, occupied Wounded Knee and proclaimed the independent Oglala nation.
From 1944, dams were built along the Missouri to protect the lower lying areas from flooding. To do this, several tribes were forcibly relocated and their land disappeared under the water of reservoirs like Big Bend and Oahe. In 2010, those affected demanded compensation for the destruction of their land. Of the seven affected tribes, the Standing Rock Sioux, the Cheyenne River Sioux, the Crow Creek Sioux, the Lower Brule Sioux and the Yankton Sioux live in South Dakota. The Crow Creek Sioux reservation was inundated by the Big Bend Dam, which was built in 1959-63. Their facilities had to be relocated to Pierre. The tribes not only complain for compensation for the loss of their land and their real estate, but also for participation in the use, for example through tourism. Crow Creek received $ 27.5 million and Lower Brulé Sioux received $ 39.3 million. The Cheyenne River Sioux, on the other hand, received 290 million. In 2004 the lower compensated tribes failed in the Senate with further demands. [3]In 2019 the Sioux language was recognized as the “official indigenous language” of South Dakota. [4] This declaration has a largely ceremonial function and should not be confused with an official language.
Population
The tribes resident in South Dakota belong to the large Sioux language family and are assigned to the Lakota , Dakota or Nakota . In some counties they make up 20 percent of the population; B. in West River. There are seven major Indian reservations in the state that grew out of parts of the large Sioux Reservation from the West River , Standing Rock Reservation, Cheyenne River Reservation, Pine Ridge Reservation, Rosebud Indian Reservation, Yankton Reservation, Crow Creek Reservation, and Lower Brule Reservation. This large reservation was assigned to the once resident Sioux by the US government. Another large reservation is the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation in the northeast of the state . There are also some smaller ones like Flandreau Indian Reservation. The Indian tribes also own large areas outside of the reservations called Off reservation trust land . South Dakota has the third highest proportion of Native Americans in the United States after Alaska and New Mexico.
Religions
Lutheran churches form the largest religious group with a total of 30.3 percent, followed by Catholics (25.7 percent) and followers of Methodist churches (10.5 percent), Baptists (6.1 percent) and Presbyterians (2.9 percent ). The Lutheran church with the largest number of members in South Dakota is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 181,434 members and by far the most important Methodist church is the United Methodist Church with 37,280 followers.
Politics
As a federal state of the United States , South Dakota is a partially sovereign member state with its own institutions at the state level on the one hand and participation in the institutions of the entire state on the other.
The population of South Dakota is considered to be conservative. The Republicans dominate and South Dakota is considered a classic red state.
Education
There are six universities in South Dakota , South Dakota State University in Brookings , University of South Dakota in Vermillion , Northern State University in Aberdeen , South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City , Black Hills State University in Spearfish and Dakota State University in Madison . There are also several private universities and technical universities.
Pierre
According to countryaah.com, Pierre is a small city in the United States (3209 inhab. In 1930), capital of South Dakota and capital of Hughes County, located in the center of the state at 439 meters above sea level, on the left bank of Missouri, at the confluence of the Bad River. The surrounding region is agricultural-pastoral, and the city mainly trades in livestock and has various industries connected with agriculture and livestock. In the surroundings there are natural gas fields, which are exploited. Pierre is home to an industrial school for Indians and has a public library and hospital. The Chicago and North-Western Railroad passes by.
