The Dakota Badlands are currently a national park located in South Dakota, United States. The area became a national monument in 1935 and a national park in 1978. The area was long inhabited by Native American tribes, and the name comes from the Lakota, who called it “mako sica” or “land bad.” In the nineteenth century, homestead settlers arrived, and the US government forced many Native Americans off of their land. Today the park and wilderness span over 64,000 acres.