By Lotte Govaerts

(This post was originally published on the Rogers Archaeology Lab blog on November 07, 2017. You can see the original post archived here.)

I have been working with collections from the Upper Missouri basin in North and South Dakota for about four years now, here at the National Museum of Natural History, but I had never actually visited the area until this past spring (late winter, really). My good friend and frequent travel companion Mat and I had the opportunity to take a short road trip across the area in early March of this year. Unfortunately, we arrived in North Dakota at the very end of an uncharacteristically warm period, which was followed by a blizzard. Our travel was impeded somewhat by these blizzard conditions which persisted throughout our visit.

Because of the time of year and the weather, many parks and other attractions were closed or inaccessible when we passed through the area. Despite this, we were still able to see a lot of the sights, and had a great trip. In this blog series, I want to share some pictures from that trip, as well as some historic photos and other related images.

Snowy landscape under a grey sky. Three earth lodges side-by-side. The look like grassy domes with entranceways flanked by upright wooden poles. — Three earth lodges at On-A-Slant Village, in Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. (Photo Lotte Govaerts)

One of the first places Mat and I visited in North Dakota was Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, located about seven miles south of Mandan. The park does not close entirely for winter, but during the off-season, there are no interpretive services, no employees on site, and no exhibits, tours, or other activities. The visitor center is also closed.

On-A-Slant Village

One of the historic sites contained within Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is On-A-Slant Village. On-A-Slant was a Mandan village occupied for approximately 200 years between the late 16^th and 18^th centuries. It was abandoned shortly after many of the village’s inhabitants were killed during the smallpox epidemic of 1781. The survivors moved north to the Knife River region. In the 1930s, five earth lodges were reconstructed on the site by Civilian Conservation Corps crews.

Snowy landscape under a grey sky. Tracks lead from the pov to the entrance of an earthlodge, which looks like a grassy dome with an entrance flanked by wooden poles. — Tracks in the snow lead to the entrance of an earth lodge at On-A-Slant Village. (Photo Lotte Govaerts)

It was extremely cold when we visited, with an icy wind blowing. With no fire going, it wasn’t particularly warm inside these earth lodges, but we could appreciate how well-insulated they were, as the wind could not penetrate the walls at all.

The author, inside an earthlodge. The circular, domed frame of the structure is made from wooden poles. I'm wearing a fuzzy purple jacket with the hood up. — Selfie inside an earth lodge at On-A-Slant Village. (Photo Lotte Govaerts)

The roof is made from wooden poles that had their bark removed. The spaces in between are filled with twigs laid in a different direction. — Close-up of interior of roof of an earth lodge at On-A-Slant Village. (Photo Lotte Govaerts)

The circular, domed construction is made from wooden poles, the spaces in between filled with twigs. The center of the roof is supported by four larger poles, holding up a horizontal square. View is towards the entrance, where bright light shines in. Benches are placed around a central hearth, which is unlit here. — Interior of larger, ceremonial lodge at On-A-Slant Village. (Photo Lotte Govaerts)

Same interior as previous photo, looking in the opposite direction. I am standing by one of the large central poles. It is more than twice as tall as me. — Interior of the larger, ceremonial earth lodge at On-A-Slant Village. Human (me) for scale. (Photo Mathew Patterson)

Straight-on view of the entrance to an earthlodge. — Outside of an earth lodge at On-A-Slant Village. The Missouri river can just be seen on the right. (Photo Lotte Govaerts)

Black-and-white photo of an earthlodge under construction. The frame of bare wooden poles is almost complete. Freshly sawed poles are lying all around the area. People are standing on and around the construction. — 1930s photo of Civilian Conservation Corps crew working on the construction of an earth lodge at On-a-Slant Village. (Image source: North Dakota Parks and Recreation, 50^th Anniversary Photo Album)

Fort Abraham Lincoln

Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park of course also includes the site of the fort it was named for.

Almost a century after the Mandan left the area, in June 1872, an infantry post named Fort McKeen was established in this location. It was soon renamed Fort Abraham Lincoln. A cavalry post was added the next year. Fort Abraham Lincoln housed three companies of the 6th and 17th Infantries and six companies of the 7th Cavalry, making it one of the largest military forts in the Northern Plains. It is perhaps most famous for being the home base from which the 7^th Cavalry under Custer started out on the expedition that ended in their defeat at the Greasy Grass or Little Bighorn.

The house where George and Elizabeth Custer lived has been restored, along with the commissary storehouse, enlisted men’s barracks, a granary, and a stable. Visitors can take tours, but not during the winter season when we visited.