Pine Ridge

Town in Shannon County, southwestern South Dakota, USA, 5 km/3 mi north of the Nebraska border and 129 km/80 mi southeast of Rapid City; population (1990) 2,600. It is the headquarters of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (population (1990) 11,400), home to the Oglala Sioux, which extends into northwestern Nebraska. The reservation contains the site of Wounded Knee (1895), the ‘last battle’ of America's Indian Wars. The hills of Pine Ridge, which give the village and reservation their name, mark the northern limit of the High Plains in eastern Wyoming, southern South Dakota, and northern Nebraska.

Situated 6 km/4 mi to the west is the Red Cloud Indian School (1888), which remains a school and also contains an American Indian heritage centre. Oglala leader Red Cloud, who negotiated the establishment of an Oglala reservation after his war of 1866–68 against the USA, is buried in an adjacent cemetery. The Oglala Nation Fair is held annually in August.