Porcupine (

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

: ''Pȟahíŋ siŋté''; "porcupine tail") is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Oglala Lakota County,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, United States. The population was 925 at the 2020 census. The community most likely was named after Porcupine Butte. Porcupine has been noted for its unusual place name, and for its designation as the unofficial capital of the unrecognized

Republic of Lakotah The Republic of Lakotah or Lakotah is a proposed independent republic in North America for the Lakota people. The idea of an independent nation of the Lakota was advanced in 2007 by activist Russell Means and the Lakota Freedom Movement. The ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of 9.5 square miles (24.6 km²), all land.

Culture

Porcupine is home to KILI (90.1 FM), a non-profit

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

broadcasting to the

Lakota people The Lakota (; or ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western D ...

on the Pine Ridge,

Cheyenne River The Cheyenne River (; "Good River"), also written ''Chyone'', referring to the Cheyenne people who once lived there, is a tributary of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is approximately 295 miles (475 ...

, and Rosebud Indian Reservations, part of the Great Sioux Nation. The station started broadcasting in 1983 as the first American Indian-owned radio station in the United States.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 407 people, 89 households, and 76 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 103 housing units at an average density of 10.8 per square mile (4.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 1.23%

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

, 98.28% Native American, and 0.49% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.47% of the population. There were 89 households, out of which 47.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 38.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.5% were non-families. 9.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.57 and the average family size was 4.83. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 42.0% under the age of 18, 13.5% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 3.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.5 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $24,583, and the median income for a family was $26,667. Males had a median income of $26,786 versus $26,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $4,429. About 30.8% of families and 28.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 29.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Radio station

KILI FM 90.1, is licensed to Porcupine. Broadcasting to the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River, and Rosebud Indian Reservations, part of the Great Sioux Nation. It started broadcasting in 1983 as the first American Indian-owned radio station in the United States. At the end of 2008, KILI announced on its website that the station would be powered by a

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

Education

Oglala Lakota County School District Oglala Lakota County School District 65-1 (OLCSD) is a public school district headquartered in the Batesland School in Batesland, South Dakota. It is in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It serves all of Oglala Lakota County. It was former ...

is the public school district. Lakota Tech High School is the public high school. A campus of Red Cloud Indian School, Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School (), is adjacent to the Porcupine CDP and has a Porcupine address. It was established in 1929, and became a part of the Red Cloud System in 1931.

Notable people

* Old Chief Smoke, an original Oglala Sioux head chief. He is buried southeast of Porcupine. * Russell Means, an

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is an Native Americans in the United States, American Indian grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues ...

activist and actor. As "a grandfather with twenty-two grandchildren" Russell Means “ ividedhis time between Chinle, Navajo Nation, Arizona, and Porcupine." In December 2007, while a resident of Porcupine, he joined with members of the

, and "dropped in on the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

and the embassies of Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile and South Africa ... seeking recognition for their effort to form a free and independent Lakota nation," to be known as the

. * Edgar Bear Runner - Citizen used by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

to negotiate with AIM occupiers during the Wounded Knee incident, survivor of the Pine Ridge Reign of Terror carried out by FBI, local law enforcements, and the

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

GOONs. Activist who lobbies for the

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

of AIM activist Leonard Peltier for his alleged crimes during the Wounded Knee incident.

References

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota Census-designated places in South Dakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation