The Sioux first became established in the Black Hills in the mid-18th century , with Lakota bands moving into the area by about 1750 and later coming to dominate it in the late 1700s to early 1800s. Some sources also note that Native peoples had lived in the broader Black Hills region for thousands of years before that, so the exact answer depends on whether you mean the Sioux specifically or Indigenous occupation more generally.

Quick context

  • Sioux/Lakota presence: by about 1750.
  • Control of the Black Hills: more firmly established in the late 1700s to early 1800s.
  • Earlier Indigenous occupation of the region: roughly 10,000 years overall, but not by the Sioux specifically.

Plain-English takeaway

If your question is about the Sioux specifically, the best short answer is: around 1750. If you mean the first human inhabitants of the Black Hills area, that history goes back much farther.