Huff Indian Village State Historic Site
Huff Indian Village State Historic Site is a classic prehistoric Mandan settlement dating to about AD 1450, perhaps two hundred years before Euroamerican influence reached the Missouri Valley area. The village is a very large, well-planned community where perhaps a thousand or more people once lived. Huff Village was probably occupied for only a short time (perhaps 20 years), as indicated by the clarity of the village plan and lack of evidence for rebuilding and trash accumulation. The site is in pristine condition, and the community layout is easily seen on the surface. Depressions marking the locations of more than one hundred lodges are arranged roughly in rows, paralleling the river bank. The rectangular shape of the houses is still evident in the depressions on the ground. A large ceremonial lodge faces an open plaza near the center of the settlement. The entire settlement is surrounded by a massive fortification system consisting of a ditch more than two-thousand feet long with ten well-defined bastions. The village, including its fortifications, covers about twelve acres. In a modern city residential area of the same size —
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Residents of Huff Village were clearly concerned about conflicts with other Indian peoples in the region. The village was densely settled in order to minimize the length of site perimeter to be defended. Huff villagers were most likely concerned about attacks from other village farmers, probably ancestors of historic Arikara Indians, who moved from the Central Plains into South Dakota during the AD 1400s. Today, the Fort Berthold Reservation in northwest North Dakota is home to the Mandans, along with the Hidatsa and Arikaras.
Photo captions:
Upper right: Huff Village aerial showing planed arrangement of houses inside the fortification ditch
Bottom right: 3-D image of Huff Village in its setting on a Missouri River terrace. Breaks and upland terrain back the village while forested plain was along the river front.
Lower left: 3-D image of Huff Village showing fortification system and arrangement of houses.
Erected by State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Native Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 1450.
Location.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 14 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Huff Indian Village Dates to AD 1443-1465 (here, next to this marker); Village Fortifications and Human Conflict (within shouting distance of this marker); Archaeological Excavations of Houses (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fort Rice (approx. 7.8 miles away); The Founding of Fort Rice (approx. 7.9 miles away); Fort Rice After General Sully's Expeditions (approx. 7.9 miles away); First Masonic Ceremony Held in the Present State of North Dakota (approx. 10.1 miles away); Civilian Conservation Corps (approx. 14 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huff.
Also see . . . Huff Village State Historic Site. (Submitted on August 7, 2020, by Connor Olson of Kewaskum, Wisconsin.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 8, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 2, 2020, by Connor Olson of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 159 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 2, 2020, by Connor Olson of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. 2. submitted on August 8, 2020, by Connor Olson of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
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