South Dakota

South Dakota is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing the state into two socially and economically distinct halves, known to residents as "East River" and "West River." In the southwestern portion of the state rise the Black Hills, a group of low, pine-covered mountains. A region of great religious importance to local American Indians as well as a major draw for the state tourism industry, the Black Hills are also the location of Mt. Rushmore, probably the best-known location in the state and a widely-used symbol of South Dakota.

Historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in an effort to attract and retain residents. The state is still largely rural, though, with one of the lowest population densities in the United States. The centrally-located city of Pierre serves as the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with 150,000 people, is the largest city in the state.

The earliest history

A long time ago, swampy ponds covered the Badlands of what is now South Dakota. American camels, small horses, and Columbian mammoths roamed these swamps. Summers were rainy and cool. Winters were mild. Just over eleven thousand years ago. A band of Paleoindian hunters killed and cut up two Columbian mammoths for food. These Clovis hunters were the first South Dakotans we know about. We know about them because of the tools and bones they left behind.

The Clovis hunters left us no written record of their lives. It was long before we humans developed writing and reading. But like many ancient peoples, they left us traces of their lives. Fragments of tools and weapons can be found. Slivers of wood or stone from their houses are buried in the ground. Bones from the animals they hunted remain behind.

Centuries and centuries passed. the swamps of South Dakota became wide, sweeping plains. Short, scrubby grass grew everywhere. Giant bison thundered across the prairies. A new people came into the area. These Folsom hunters made beautiful spear points. They picked wild onions and prairie turnips to eat. They hunted buffalo in the Black Hills. But their way of life ended. Archaeologists are not sure why.

More centuries passed. Summers grew hotter, drier, longer. New hunters—the Plains Archaic people—migrated to South Dakota. Herds of giant bison grew scarce and died out. Smaller bison replaced them. The people also hunted deer or rabbit. They ground prairie turnips into powder for eating. They learned how to store food for long periods of drought. The Plains Archaic people lived in small groups because the land had less to give them.

The climate of South Dakota shifted again about three thousand years ago. Spring, summer, fall, and winter felt much as they do now. People began to hunt in bigger groups. They drove large herds of bison off high bluffs. These Woodland people traded with native people from the east. From them, the Woodland people gained new ideas about life and death. They began to build burial mounds for their dead. These mounds can still be seen in eastern South Dakota.

Plains Indians

Shards of pottery, shell beads, and stone tools that have been found hint at the lifestyle of the Woodland People, the first to leave a legacy of their presence in what is now northeastern South Dakota. These early people hunted deer, antelope, bison, and other big game of the prairie. They fished the streams and picked berries along the banks. For several hundred years, beginning around 1200 AD, they occupied the region, burying their dead in broad, low mounds, but by the time the Sioux drifted into the area from Minnesota in the late 17th century, the Woodland People had disappeared-leaving only their mysterious mounds to posterity. The Sioux came to the region for two reasons. Their long-time Minnesota neighbors and enemies, the Chippewa and Cree, tilted the balance of power in their own favor when they traded with French Canadians, furs for firearms.

Unable to counter their enemies' new weapons, and always ready to move with the buffalo, the Sioux packed their travois and followed their livelihood westward. The migration was a slow one, and not all of the Sioux tribes settled in the area. Only the Santee and Yanktonnais tribes halted in northeastern South Dakota, the others pushed on.

Lewis and Clark

In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark began an adventure to find the Pacific Ocean. They led a group of American explorers on that long trip. They went through land in which only Indian tribes lived. They were called the Corps of Discovery. Their journey was almost 8,000 miles long. It took them two years to make. It was 1803 and at that time, the country ended at the Mississippi River. Most Americans lived near the Atlantic Ocean. The land that would one day be South Dakota lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. This whole area was known as Louisiana. Many American Indians lived there. A few fur traders did, too. Most white people had never been there. To them, it was the "Great Unknown." At the same time, the president negotiated with France to buy Louisiana. The United States paid three cents an acre for the land. It was called the Louisiana Purchase. It doubled the size of the United States.

Statehood

In November 1889, President Harrison signed the law that made both North and South Dakota into states. Before he did so, he shuffled the papers on his desk. He covered up the names on the papers. No one knows which state he signed into law first. The Dakotas are twins—born at the same time. They are listed in alphabetical order, though. North Dakota comes first. It is said to be the thirty-ninth state. South Dakota is said to be the fortieth, but nobody knows for sure. They are equals.


Pierre was to be the capital for just one year. It took two elections to decide what town would be the permanent capital. The first election was held in 1890. Huron challenged Pierre for the honor. Pierre won again. In 1904, Mitchell tried to win the capital. Again, Pierre won.