Anthropology Department

Native Americans in Dakota Territory

By Cris Fulton, Anthropology Department

"The several tribes of Indian inhabiting the regions of the Upper Missouri, and of whom I spoke in my last letter, are undoubtedly the finest looking, best equipped, and most beautifully costumed of any on the continent. They live in a country well stocked with buffaloes and wild horses, which furnish them an excellent and easy living...." George Catlin, artist, 1832

This region of the country has a wealth of fascinating Indian history and culture. Sitting Bull, Four Bears, Running Antelope, George Armstrong Custer, General Crook, Buffalo Bird Woman, Rain-in-the-Face, these are just some of the famous names that played a role in the drama of life here. Our exhibit, Native Americans in Dakota Territory, showcases the beauty, power, and spirit of the legendary tribes of this area. Through historic and contemporary photographs, stone and bone artifacts, rock art images, plant samples, quotations, art prints, text, animal hides and skulls, feathers, and beadwork, their compelling story has been told.

The first section of the exhibit tells about Native American gardens and foods. The Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa were well known for their gardens. Squash, melon, sunflower, corn, and bean seeds used by these tribes are featured here. A deer antler rake, traditional garden designs, a quotation from Buffalo Bird Woman, and a string of braided prairie turnips are also included.

Also in the first section are displays of stone and bone tools and source material, curated by Peg Ahlness and LeeAnne Guba of the Archaeology Department.

Stone artifacts include projectile points from Paleo-Indian , Archaic, Late Archaic, Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, Plains Village and up to the Historic Period.

The Petroglyph Exhibit

The Petroglyph Exhibit is part of the first section of displays also. It showcases the beautiful and mysterious rock art from the North Cave Hills area. These carvings in the sandstone cliffs were probably made by the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Sioux, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Crow and Shoshone tribes. While it is difficult to assign a particular age to rock art, there are reasonable estimates ranging from A.D. 700 all the way up to A.D. 1890. Included in the Petroglyph Exhibit are panels about George Armstrong Custer's visit to Ludlow Cave (in the North Cave Hills) during his Black Hills Expedition of 1874. Ludlow Cave was filled with rock art at that time, but has unfortunately been covered with graffiti since then. Information about artifacts recovered from Ludlow Cave is included also.

Black Hills

Next to the Petroglyph Exhibit is a section on the Black Hills, followed by panels on Sitting Bull, the Ghost Dance, and Wounded Knee.

"If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man He would have made me so in the first place. He put in your heart certain wishes and plans, and in my heart He put other different desires. Each man is good in his sight.

It is not necessary for eagles to be crows." Sitting Bull, 1876

Following the Wounded Knee panel are exhibits about the Lakota, Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa tribes. More research is scheduled for these areas.

The next section of the exhibit tells the story of Conflicts. The battle of Killdeer Mountain, the Battle of the Badlands, and the attack on the Fisk wagon train are all presented in this section. Research is planned for panels on the Slim Buttes and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The Fort Dilts panel tells of the attack on the Fisk wagon train by Sitting Bull and other Sioux warriors in 1864. This dramatic event, in which settlers circled their wagons and waited for the soldiers to arrive, happened quite close to Bowman. Our Archaeology Department is conducting further research on the subject.

The central walls of the exhibit feature displays about The Dance, Lifestyle, The Buffalo, Animals, Mother Earth, and Plants. The Plant Exhibit ties into our Prairie Walk native plant gardens on the museum grounds. Here you can see different plant specimens and learn about their uses, while in the gardens you can see the actual living plants.

The exhibit , Native Americans in Dakota Territory, was started in 1994. The Anthropology Department of the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum, headed by Cris Fulton, has been responsible for its development. The Anthropology Department has participated in conferences, field trips, rock art surveys for the National Forest Service, photography projects, research, exhibit design and construction. While much has been done already, the exhibits are very much a work in progress. We hope you will stop by sometime to see some of the displays in person. It is our wish to share the knowledge we have with you, the museum visitor, so that there may be a greater understanding and appreciation of the native people of this area, past and present.

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