Yankton Sioux Tribe established in 1853 in Charles Mix County, South Dakota. The tribe has a land base of 36,741 acres. Most of the tribe moved onto the reservation in the 1860s. The tribe owns and operates the Fort Randall Casino and Hotel in Pickstown, South Dakota, and Lucky Lounge and Four Directions Restaurant. Other major employers include Indian Health Services, the tribe itself, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Marty Indian School. Yankton Sioux Tribe The Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is a federally recognized tribe of Yankton Western Dakota people, located in South Dakota. Their Dakota name is Ihanktonwan Dakota Oyate,
Native American recognition in the United States to be classified as Indian. At times a person's membership in a federally recognized tribe was not sufficient for classification as Indian in the eyes of the courts. The Major Crimes Act of 1885 placed seven major crimes under federal jurisdiction if committed by a Native American in Native American Territory. The Department of Justice required that a defendant be an enrolled member of a tribe to be covered by the Major Crimes Act. In his 1935 Memorandum to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the Assistant Solicitor, Felix S. Cohen, discussed the rights of a group of non-tribal Indians