“Pine Ridge” is a literal translation of the Lakota word Wazi ahanhan, descriptive of the topography of the reservation. The land is rolling prairie “broken by whiteface buttes dotted with yellow pine (Powers, 1977)” Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is located in the southwestern corner of South Dakota (see maps). The reservation covers 2,786,540 acres. 707,246 acres are owned tribally. The badlands extend into the northern portion of the reservation. The western portion of the reservation leads to the foothills of the Black Hills. Additional acreage is covered by grasslands and spotted pine forests.

Information from : Oglala Religion by William K. Powers. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln/London, p. 52-107. And American and Indian Reservation and Trust Areas by Veronica Tiller. Tiller Research Inc. Alburquerque, NM, 1996. p. 560-561.