Lakota Nation was an UNPO member between 1994 and 2007. 

The Lakota Nation, represented internationally by the Lakotah Republic, has engaged with UNPO to highlight its historic claims to sovereignty, treaty rights, and self-governance. A major issue for the Lakota is the non-recognition and non-enforcement of historic treaties such as the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The community argues that the United States has failed to honour the treaty’s provisions, contributing to ongoing land dispossession, environmental degradation of Indigenous territories, and systemic socio-economic disadvantage in areas such as the Pine Ridge Reservation. Another key dimension is political and institutional representation. The Lakota reject the federal Indian Reorganisation Act (IRA) tribal council system as imposed, seeing it as undermining traditional governance structures and limiting meaningful self-government. UNPO-facilitated dialogues and statements emphasise the Lakota aim to replace this system with governance rooted in their own legal-cultural traditions. 

Cultural survival and socio-economic justice also form part of the representation agenda. The Lakota used UNPO as a platform to draw attention to extreme rates of poverty, limited access to clean water, healthcare disparities and the legacy of assimilation policies (including boarding schools and language suppression) that have impacted inter-generational transmission of Lakota identity and sovereignty. During their participation with UNPO, Lakota representatives undertook specific initiatives such as fact-finding missions, for example the 2004 meeting of Lakota elders facilitated by UNPO observers on Pine Ridge Reservation. These actions sought to document the situation on the ground and feed into international advocacy, reinforcing calls for treaty enforcement, land restitution and enhanced international visibility of Lakota rights. 

Despite these efforts, major challenges remain: full implementation of treaty rights, restoration of land and resources, recognition of governance structures, and the translation of international advocacy into domestic policy change. 

The Lakota are one of the major branches of the Oceti Sakowin, or “Seven Council Fires,” often referred to collectively as the Sioux Nation. Their traditional homelands span the northern Grand plains of North America, particularly the regions of present-day North and South Dakota. The Lakota language, a dialect of the Siouan linguistic family, remains a vital expression of identity and worldview, encapsulating values of kinship, respect for the natural world, and spiritual balance. 

Lakota culture is grounded in a philosophy of interconnectedness and reciprocity, often summarised in the phrase Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ (“All My Relations”). This principle guides social relations, governance, and spiritual life. Traditional governance is based on consensus among council representatives of kinship groups, reflecting deep communal responsibility and respect for elders’ wisdom. Spirituality and ceremony remain central to Lakota identity, including the Sun Dance, Vision Quest (Hanbleceya), and the Inipi (sweat lodge) ceremony. These practices, which were once criminalised by federal authorities, have undergone a revival since the late 20th century, contributing to the renewal of collective identity and intergenerational transmission of tradition. Artistic expression—through beadwork, quillwork, ledger art, and contemporary painting—continues to serve as a means of storytelling and cultural continuity. Similarly, oral history and song preserve ancestral memory, honour historical leaders such as Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, and affirm Lakota resilience in the face of colonisation and forced assimilation. 

The Lakota are on the main divisions of the Oceti Sakowin Confederacy (alongside the Dakota and Nakota), whose ancestral territories encompassed a vast region of the northern Great Plains. Historically semi-nomadic, the Lakota developed a way of life centred on the bison, which shaped their economy, spirituality, and social organisation. By the 18th century, after adopting the horse from Spanish colonial trade networks, the Lakota became powerful equestrian hunters and defenders of the Plains, expanding westward into what is now the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana. 

Contact with European settlers intensified in the 19th century, leading to cycles of conflict and negotiation with the United States. A key milestone was the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, which recognised Lakota sovereignty over large portions of the northern Plains. A second treaty in 1868 reaffirmed their rights to the Great Sioux Reservation, including the Black Hills (Paha Sapa), a sacred region central to Lakota cosmology. However, the discovery of gold in the 1870s brought waves of settlers and U.S. military incursions, culminating in the Great Sioux War of 1876-77 and the U.S. seizure of the Black Hills—widely regarded by the Lakota as a breach of treaty and international law. 

Following military defeat and forced confinement to reservations, federal policies of assimilation and cultural suppression sought to dismantle traditional governance and spiritual life. The Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, in which U.S. troops killed hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children, symbolised the violent imposition of these policies and remains a defining trauma in Lakota collective memory. Throughout the 20th century, the Lakota resisted efforts to erode their autonomy. The imposition of tribal governments under the Indian Reorganisation Act (1934) further constrained traditional leadership, while economic marginalisation persisted. Yet the mid-20th century saw a resurgence of activism, with groups like the American Indian Movement (AIM) reclaiming sacred sites and asserting treaty rights. The 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee became a global symbol of Indigenous resistance. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court (United States v. Sioux Nation ruled that the Black Hills were illegally taken and awarded financial compensation. The Lakota have consistently refused this settlement, maintaining that Paha Sapa is not for sale and demanding full restitution of the land.