Fort Yates is a city in
Sioux County,
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
, United States. It is the
tribal
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
headquarters of the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
The Standing Rock Reservation ( lkt, Íŋyaŋ Woslál Háŋ) lies across the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic " Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lakota Oyate and the Ihunktuwona and Pabaks ...
and
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Sioux County.
Since 1970 the population has declined markedly from more than 1,100 residents, as people have left for other locations for work. The population was 176 at the
2020 census.
History
A primarily Native American settlement developed here after a US Army post at this site was established in 1863 as the Standing Rock
Cantonment
A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...
, intended for the US Army garrison to oversee the
Hunkpapa
The Hunkpapa (Lakota: ) are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe. The name ' is a Lakota word, meaning "Head of the Circle" (at one time, the tribe's name was represented in European-American records as ...
and Blackfeet bands, and the Inhunktonwan and Cuthead of the Upper Yanktonai, of the
Lakota
Lakota may refer to:
*Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes
*Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples
Place names
In the United States:
*Lakota, Iowa
*Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County
*Lakota ...
Oyate. In 1878 the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
renamed the fort to honor Captain
George Yates
George Wilhelmus Mancius Yates (February 26, 1843 – June 25, 1876) was an officer in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment. He was killed in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Biography
Yates was born in Albany, New York. He met Custer in Monroe, Mich ...
, who was killed by the
Lakota Oyate at the
Battle of Little Big Horn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...
in 1876. The town that developed was also known as Fort Yates. The Army post and fort were decommissioned in 1903.
Fort Yates also served as the headquarters of the US Standing Rock Indian Agency, which in the late 19th century was headed by US Indian Service Agent
James McLaughlin. Worried about the Hunkpapa Lakota chief
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull ( lkt, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock I ...
possibly taking part in the
Ghost Dance
The Ghost Dance ( Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilso ...
movement, he ordered the arrest of the chief on December 14, 1890. During the bungled event the chief was shot and killed at dawn in his log cabin by agency non-Hunkpapa Dakota police.
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull ( lkt, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock I ...
was buried at Fort Yates. In 1953, his family authorized his remains to be exhumed and transferred to a gravesite overlooking the Missouri River near his birthplace at
Mobridge, South Dakota
Mobridge also Kȟowákataŋ Otȟúŋwahe ( Lakota: ''Kȟowákataŋ Otȟúŋwahe''; lit. "Over-the-River Town") is a city in Walworth County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,261 according to the 2020 census.
History
Located i ...
. A monument dedicated to Sitting Bull was installed at his burial site at Fort Yates. Another monument, with his bust on a pedestal, overlooks the Missouri River at the Mobridge burial site.
This city has become the tribal headquarters of the federally recognized
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
The Standing Rock Reservation ( lkt, Íŋyaŋ Woslál Háŋ) lies across the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic " Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lakota Oyate and the Ihunktuwona and Pabaks ...
, whose reservation encompasses it. They founded
Sitting Bull College
Sitting Bull College is a public tribal land-grant college in Fort Yates, North Dakota. It was founded in 1973 by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in south-central North Dakota. The SBC campuses are located ...
in Fort Yates, a
tribal college
In the United States, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are a category of higher education, minority-serving institutions defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Un ...
now named for their noted 19th-century leader. Known also as "Long Soldier", it is the most populous electoral district of the reservation.
Geography and climate
Fort Yates is located at (46.084899, -100.630144).
Fort Yates is located on the western bank of
Lake Oahe
Lake Oahe () is a large reservoir behind Oahe Dam on the Missouri River; it begins in central South Dakota and continues north into North Dakota in the United States. The lake has an area of and a maximum depth of . By volume, it is the List of l ...
.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
Fort Yates has a
semiarid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''BSk''), with hot summers, cold and very dry winters (though sometimes moderated by chinook winds) and substantial
diurnal temperature ranges. On February 2, 1992 the city recorded , the highest ever recorded for any winter month in North Dakota. Depending on the climatic maps and the data used the city can be considered the northernmost urban area of the
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Dfa'') in an isolated occurrence at 46 °N. At the same time that Fort Yates is around different climatic types and subtypes in a situation rare and unusual. ''Dfb'' to the northeast and west, ''Dwb'' to the northwest and east, ''BSk'' to the southwest and south, and ''Dwa'' to the west.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 184 people, 66 households, and 43 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 73 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 5.4%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 92.4%
Native American, 0.5% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.6% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 2.2% of the population.
There were 66 households, of which 45.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.7% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 30.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 12.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.8% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.26.
The median age in the city was 33.6 years. 31% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.6% were from 25 to 44; 22.8% were from 45 to 64; and 9.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.3% male and 46.7% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 228 people, 73 households, and 47 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 3,688.4 people per square mile (1,467.2/km
2). There were 78 housing units at an average density of 1,261.8 per square mile (501.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 93.42%
Native American, 5.26%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, and 1.32% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 3.95% of the population.
There were 73 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 26.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 3.85.
In the town the population was spread out, with 35.5% under the age of 18, 15.4% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 14.9% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $25,500, and the median income for a family was $31,875. Males had a median income of $26,125 versus $25,000 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $9,512. About 6.4% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 8.2% of those under the age of eighteen and 17.6% of those 65 or over.
Fort Yates water treatment plant
The water treatment plant at Fort Yates, an integral part of
The Standing Rock Rural Water System
The Standing Rock Rural Water System (RWS) is a $30 million water system funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 for about 10,000 residents of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dako ...
, is the primary source of drinking water for over three thousand people which includes the residents of Porcupine, Cannonball and Fort Yates as well the Prairie Knights Casino and Lodge. The intake is on the
Missouri River.
Education
It is in the
Fort Yates School District,
which is integrated with the Standing Rock Community School.
See also
*
Prairie Knights Casino and Resort
*
Former Sioux County Courthouse (North Dakota)
References
{{Authority control
Cities in North Dakota
Cities in Sioux County, North Dakota
County seats in North Dakota
Populated places established in 1863
North Dakota populated places on the Missouri River
1863 establishments in Dakota Territory
Forts along the Missouri River