Wakpala, SD

Wakpala is an unincorporated community in Corson County, South Dakota, United States, on the west side of the Missouri River, north-northwest of Mobridge. The 2020 census counted 267 residents. Wakpala is within the boundaries of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, and its name loosely translates to "creek" in the Lakota language, with Oak Creek running south on its eastern edge. Chief Gall is buried at Saint Elizabeth Episcopal Cemetery here and Chief Sitting Bull is possibly buried under a concrete bust bearing his name a few miles south of town in the Mobridge area. Taken together, these details give a newcomer a usable picture of Wakpala, where its history, geography, and current gathering places meet. For Wakpala, the memorable detail is the way older history and current gathering places share one local map. Sitting Bull was originally buried at Fort Yates, North Dakota, but an effort was made to exhume his bones and rebury him at the present site.