History
The Black Hills region contains a rich and colorful history. Since its geologic birth, the Black Hills have endured dramatic changes to its landscape and inhabitants.
Geology
The landscape of the Black Hills was uplifted into its dome structure by several volcanic episodes. The dome is comprised of granites, Precambrian shists, volcanic basalts, rhyollites, and pegmatites.
Over the years, the exposed granite was eroded into spires and needles. During the Tertiary period, the uplift caused numerous faults, severely tipped the rocks at high angles, and deformed much of the strata. Some of the formations in the Black Hills are comprised of sedimentary rocks such as conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones, and mudstones, and are evident of an extinct marine environment. The Deadwood formations are excellent examples of sedimentary deposits.
Other formations, such as Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park, are made of limestone. Red shale beds are also found in the Black Hills. The most visible example of red shale can be seen along I-90 from Rapid City to Wyoming.
Cultural History
Native Americans were the first inhabitants of the Black Hills.
Graves, fine crafts, and tools provide evidence that Native Americans inhabited the area as early as 9,000 years ago. Most of the early people were members of nomadic tribes who followed roaming bison herds. The bison provided food, clothing, fire fuel (from burning dung), tools, weapons, and toys.
Early tribes were the Arikara (Ree) Indians that arrived by 1500 A.D.
Cheyenne, Kiowa Pawnee, and Crow followed shortly after. During the 1700s, the Lakota Sioux migrated from the Minnesota area, pushed the other tribes in all directions, and dominated the present-day South Dakota area for over 150 years.
The Lakota Sioux, made up of three major tribes: the Yankton, Santee, and Teton, were all skilled horseman, hunters and warriors. Although they did not have a written language, much of their history has been retained through drawings and oral storytelling.
French Canadian fur trappers started to trickled down into the area in the 1700s. By 1803, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson bought over 800,000 square miles of the Louisiana Territory from France. The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States, and included the area that was to become South Dakota. During the same era, Jefferson sent out Lewis and Clark to chart the Missouri River.
Seventy-five years after the Lewis and Clark expedition, pioneers and homesteaders began inhabiting the area in larger numbers. Originally, the federal government reserved extensive portions of the Dakota Territory for Indian Reservations. Land treaties were also created to established land and agencies for the Native tribes. Eventually, the treaties failed and tension between the Native tribes and the pioneers grew.
In 1874, Lieutenant George A. Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills area. The discovery of gold created a gold rush frenzy which further pushed Native Indians off their land. Tensions persisted and in 1876, Custer decided to attack 4,000 Indian warriors led by Chief Sitting Bull in the valley of the Little Bighorn River. All of Custer's 200 soldiers were killed. In response, the U.S. government punished all Sioux by cutting rations and claiming tribal lands as federal government lands. To worsen relations with Native tribes, Chief Sitting Bull was accidentally killed by tribal police. In response, Chief Big Foot decided to move his band to the Pine Ridge Reservation. While camped at Wounded Knee Creek, federal troops tried to disarm the tribe. A shot was fired, triggering chaotic shooting.
As a result, over 200 Sioux were killed.
Despite tensions with Native Indians, more settlers flocked to the area. In 1889, South Dakota had a population large enough to become a state.
Currently OutsideOther pages you might find helpful:
Custer County Historical Society
The Custer County Historical Society provides and in depth historic account of the area.
