The Blood Run Site is an archaeological site on the border of the US states of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. The site was essentially populated for 8,500 years, within which earthworks structures were built by the

Oneota Oneota is a designation archaeologists use to refer to a cultural complex that existed in the eastern plains and Great Lakes area of what is now occupied by the United States from around AD 900 to around 1650 or 1700. Based on classification de ...

Culture and occupied descendant tribes such as the

Ioway The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje (English: grey snow; Chiwere: Báxoje ich'é) are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma an ...

Otoe The Otoe (Chiwere: Jiwére) are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes. Historically, t ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and shared with

Quapaw The Quapaw ( ; or Arkansas and Ugahxpa) people are a tribe of Native Americans that coalesced in what is known as the Midwest and Ohio Valley of the present-day United States. The Dhegiha Siouan-speaking tribe historically migrated from the Ohi ...

and later Kansa, Osage, and

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

(who were both Omaha and

Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...

at the time) people. The site was so named on account of the iron-stained soil.

History

Arikara Arikara (), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011)

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

, and

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

were regular traders with the village and Nakota/Dakota and Arikara people also regularly resided there in later years. The site overlaps the Iowa and South Dakota border, near

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, between

Granite, Iowa Granite is an unincorporated community in Lyon County, Iowa, United States, near the historic Blood Run Site and the Gitchie Manitou State Preserve. Geography Granite is the most northwestern community in Iowa near the banks of the Big Sioux Ri ...

, and

Harrisburg, South Dakota Harrisburg is a city in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States and is a suburb of Sioux Falls. The population was 6,732 at the 2020 census. The population of the Harrisburg zip code rose from 2,476 in 2000 to 5,906 in 2010. 9,687 in 2020. ...

. Although declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1970, its integrity is endangered by gravel quarrying and looting. The site was substantially looted and areas wholly destroyed by settlers and looters through the late 1930s and by subsequent generations of collectors. A possible snake mound rivaling the

Serpent Mound The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,348-foot-long (411 m), three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located in Peebles, Ohio. The mound itself resides on the Serpent Mound crater plateau, running along the Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. ...

in Ohio was used for railroad fill. Blood Run was mapped in the early 18th century by French

voyageur The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ...

s trading with the village, which was then populated largely by Omaha people, but other cultures shared the area, about 480 mounds existed and a population of 10,000 Native people was documented in the corresponding census. In the late 19th century, 176 mounds were still visible. Today 78 mounds still exist, mostly burial. In 1987, the State of Iowa acquired a prominent portion of the site for a state park. The State of South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Commission, upon offer of land sale by owners Buzz and Lois Nelson and the sole civilian testimony by SD author of Blood Run (book) (a volume supported by a SD Arts Council Grant) and Sioux Falls Public Schools and Office of Indian Education teacher,

Allison Hedge Coke Allison Adelle Hedge Coke is an American poet and editor. Her debut book, ''Dog Road Woman'', won the American Book Award and was the first finalist of the Paterson Poetry Prize and Diane DeCora Award. Since then, she has written five more books ...

, the Commission voted to acquire the area as state park land in January 2003. Doug Hofer was a supportive presence at the hearing. In December of 2011, South Dakota Governor

Dennis Daugaard Dennis Martin Daugaard (born June 11, 1953) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 32nd governor of South Dakota from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first chief executive of a U.S. state to be the c ...

announced that an agreement was reached on the purchase option for 324 acres in the Blood Run Historical Landmark area on the Lincoln County, S.D., side of the Big Sioux River. "South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, the Parks and Wildlife Foundation and The Conservation Fund to acquire the property for $3.5 million before the end of the year, according to the governor’s office." "The Conservation Fund will purchase and hold the majority of the Nelson property until funds are available and then transfer it to the state of South Dakota."

References

*'' Blood Run''. Allison Hedge Coke. Salt Publications. 2006 UK. 2007 U

*The Ohio State University College of Arts and College of Humanities. June 2009. Chadwick Allen, English, "Siting Earthworks in Allison Hedge Coke's Blood Run." Plenary address, LitFest 2009, University of Dayton, March 2

*SD Parks & Wildlife Foundation

External links

State of Iowa page for site
{{authority control Native American history of Iowa Native American history of South Dakota Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in South Dakota National Historic Landmarks in Iowa National Historic Landmarks in South Dakota Former Native American populated places in the United States Former populated places in Iowa Former populated places in South Dakota Protected areas of Lyon County, Iowa Geography of Lincoln County, South Dakota State Historical Society of Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Lyon County, Iowa Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places

History

See also

References

External links