There were deer and bison. People hunted and farmed. Large families lived together. They stored their food and water in clay pots. And they kept horses.
This describes life at Knife River Indian Villages. It’s a National Historic Site (NHS) in Stanton, North Dakota. This site sits by the Knife and Missouri rivers. Congress created the site on October 26, 1974. That means Knife River Indian Villages NHS is 50 years old!
The oldest village is from the 1500s. That’s when the Hidatsa people settled by the Missouri River. They built earth lodges. Those circular homes are made of earth and wood. Women built them. Families of 10–20 people lived inside. The lodges had a fire pit. The smoke went out a hole in the roof. The fire was for heat and cooking.
The Hidatsa took water from the river for crops. Those included corn, squash, sunflower, and beans. Their was also a place to trade horses and furs. In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark got to Knife River Villages. The explorers met Sacagawea there. Together they traveled to the West.
The settlement at Knife River lasted until the 1830s. That’s when smallpox got to the villages. The disease killed many of the Hidatsa. Those who survived moved. The earth lodges from Knife River Indian Villages no longer exist. Yet there is a from 1995. It shows what the historic home looked like.
Albert LeBeau leads Knife River Indian Villages NHS. “The earth lodge is built and furnished how a typical house would be set up when people were there,” he said. LeBeau told News-O-Matic that people enjoy visiting the lodge. And he described the site’s purpose. It is “to and protect the Hidatsa villages.”
Knife River Indian Villages celebrated its 50th birthday. There were speakers and storytellers. Tribal leaders came too. They shared music and dances. Today, the Hidatsa are part of MHA Nation. That is a group of three tribes from the Missouri River area.
“The future of Knife River Indian Villages is bright,” said LeBeau.
By Diana Richard
Updated October 25, 2024, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
