Yankton, South Dakota Yankton, South Dakota Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton is the principal city of the Yankton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entirety of Yankton County, and which had an estimated population of 22,662 as of July 1, 2017. Yankton was the first capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota (Sioux) Native Americans; Yankton is derived from the Nakota word "I-hank-ton-wan" ("the end village"). Yankton is located on the Missouri River just downstream of the
Sterilization of Native American women minimum one fourth of the Native Americans child bearing individuals were unable to become pregnant if they were able and wanted to. The decline in birth rate was a quantifiable effect however, sterilization also impacted individuals psychologically and socially. Within Native American culture a woman's fertility along with the family unit are greatly valued. For a woman to be unable to bare children would cause shame, embarrassment and possible condemnation from the individuals tribe due to how Native American peoples view motherhood. These emotions could have been exacerbated due to Native American's deep cultural roots that are based on the