Spirit Mound Historic Prairie is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

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 ...

, USA, featuring a prominent hill on the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

. The

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

of the region considered Spirit Mound the home of dangerous spirits or little people; members of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

climbed it on August 25, 1804. The park was established in 2002. It is located about north of

Vermillion, South Dakota Vermillion ( lkt, Waséoyuze; "The Place Where Vermilion is Obtained") is a city in and the county seat of Clay County. It is in the southeastern corner of South Dakota, United States, and is the state's 12th-largest city. According to the 2020 ...

Spirit Mound

Stories and religious beliefs about "Little People" are common to many if not most Native American tribes in the West.Saindon, Robert A. "Lewis and Clark and the Legend of the 'Little People'." In ''Explorations Into the World of Lewis and Clark.'' Robert A. Saindon, ed. Great Falls, Mont.: Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, 2003, p. 478.
/ref>Plenty Coups and Linderman, Frank Bird. ''Plenty-Coups, Chief of the Crows.'' Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 2002, p. 23.
/ref>Lawrence, Edward. ''Mysteries and Legends of Montana: True Stories of the Unsolved and Unexplained.'' Helena, Mont.: Twodot, 1997, p. 17.
/ref> In 1804, the

stayed for a time with a band of Wičhíyena Sioux on the Vermillion River in modern-day South Dakota. On August 25,

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

, and 10 other men traveled about north of the river's junction with the Missouri River to see the "mountain of the Little People". Lewis wrote in his journal that the Little People were "deavals" (devils) with very large heads, about high, and very alert to any intrusions into their territory.Lewis, Meriwether and Clark, William. ''The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Vol. 3: August 25, 1804 – April 6, 1805.'' Gary E. Moulton, ed. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 1987, p. 505.
/ref> The Sioux said that the devils carried sharp arrows which could strike at a very long distance, and that they killed anyone who approached their mound.Lawrence, ''Mysteries and Legends of Montana: True Stories of the Unsolved and Unexplained,'' 1997, p. 18.
/ref> The Little People so terrified the local population, Lewis reported, that the Maha (

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 ...

), Ottoes (

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 ...

), and Sioux would not go near the place. The Lakota people who came to live near the "Spirit Mound" after the Wičhíyena Sioux have a story no more than 250 years old which describes how a band of 350 warriors came near the mound late at night and were nearly wiped out by the ferocious Little People (the survivors were crippled for life).Saindon, "Lewis and Clark and the Legend of the 'Little People'," in ''Explorations Into the World of Lewis and Clark,'' 2003, p. 481.
/ref> Due to extensive damming of the Missouri River, Spirit Mound is one of the few places which historians can identify as precisely a spot upon which Lewis and Clark stood.

History

Spirit Mound was in private hands for many decades, leading to extensive degradation of the site's original status. White settlers first came to the area in 1868, and used it for grazing livestock and for farming.Wilson, Norma C. "Grass Dance Special for Spirit Mound." ''Spirit Mound Trust News.'' 2005.
/ref> Five separate landowners owned parts of the site in the early 1980s."In the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark." ''Lewis and Clark - Spirit Mound Trust News.'' 2003.
/ref> More than 20 buildings, a feedlot, soybean fields, cornfields, several roads, 1,500 non-native trees, and of fence dotted the site. Several local citizens formed the Spirit Mound Trust in 1986 in an attempt to preserve the site. The group received funding boosts and publicity with the 1996 publication of the book ''

Undaunted Courage ''Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West'' (), written by Stephen Ambrose, is a 1996 biography of Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The book is based on journals and letters ...

'' (about the Lewis and Clark Expedition) and the 1997

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

documentary '' Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery''."Spirit Mound Trust History." No date.
Accessed 2010-09-02. After years of lobbying, the federal government's

Land and Water Conservation Fund The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and ...

provided $600,000 to acquire the site. The donation required that the State of South Dakota establish the site as a state park, while the Spirit Mound Trust would restore it, provide interpretational signage and tours, and raise $500,000 for the site's long-term preservation. The site was purchased from the private landowners in 2001. On July 29, 2001,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Tim Johnson presented a symbolic check for $600,000 for the purchase of Spirit Mound and the surrounding land. In 2004 the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

designated the trail leading to the summit of Spirit Mound as a

National Recreation Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

.Heisinger, Jim. "National Designation for Spirit Mound Summit Trail." ''Spirit Mound Trust News.'' 2004.
/ref> The

Spirit Mound Creek Spirit Mound Creek is a tributary of the Vermillion River, located in the southeastern South Dakota county of Clay. It passes through the Spirit Mound Historic Prairie. See also *List of rivers of South Dakota This is a list of rivers in the st ...

runs right past the Mound, on its southern side. Some controversy has surrounded the establishment of the state park. In 2001 a few local Native American leaders expressed dismay that a site sacred and terrifying to local tribes would be treated as a "fun" place to visit."Some American Indians Not Pleased With Plans for Spiritual Site." ''Associated Press.'' April 6, 2001.

References

External links

Spirit Mound Historic PrairieSpirit Mound Trust
(

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

) {{authority control 2001 establishments in South Dakota Grasslands of South Dakota Grasslands of the North American Great Plains Indigenous culture of the Great Plains Hills of the United States Landforms of Clay County, South Dakota Lewis and Clark Expedition National Register of Historic Places in Clay County, South Dakota Native American history of South Dakota Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places Protected areas established in 2001 Protected areas of Clay County, South Dakota Religious places of the indigenous peoples of North America State parks of South Dakota