Park History
The first inhabitants of the area were Native American Indians who had been using the Badlands as hunting grounds for over 11,000 years.
Archaeological finds along with oral traditions reveal that these people camped in the isolated valleys that were rich with fresh water and game. The Badlands walls also provided great views of roaming herds as well as encroaching enemies.
As the homesteaders began to trickle into the area in the 19th century, the US government took land from the Oglala Sioux tribes and forced them to live on reservations. Tensions between the Oglala Sioux became increasingly intense and finally climaxed as the massacre at Wounded Knee. This was to be the last major clash between Native Americans and the US Army until the American Indian Freedom actions in the 1970s. Wounded Knee does not lie within park boundaries and is located 45 miles south on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
The abundant fossil reserves also allured many people to the Badlands area. Although Native Americans had been collecting fossils here for thousands of years, it wasn't until the 1940s when paleontologists began showing interest in the area. In 1946, Dr. Hiram A. Prout published a paper in the American Journal of Science about a fossilized jaw that was found in the Badlands. From then on, paleontologists have been flocking to the area. Over 100 different types of fossilized species have been found in the Badlands.
Paleontologists have also discovered that the area holds the country's riches deposits of Oligocene mammals, providing a window into what the earth was like 33 million years ago.
Homesteaders came to the area in the 19th and 20th centuries with the hopes of making a living by farming the harsh land. However, the Great Dust Bowl of the 1930s along with waves of grasshoppers, drove many families away. Only a few remained to ranch and raise wheat.
During W.W.II the US Military took possession of over 300,000 acres of the Pine Ridge Reservation to use as a gunnery range. Over 300 of these acres were part of Badlands National Monument. After the war, the area was used as an artillery range for the South Dakota National Guard.
Today Badlands National Park provides visitors with a chance to peer into American geologic, cultural, and political history. The fossils, steep escarpments, and beautiful prairie lands are still intact for all to enjoy.
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