Winter Villages and Lodges

Winter Villages and Lodges. Fort Clark State Historic Site. Winter villages of the Mandans and the neighboring Hidatsas were located in the forested river bottoms of the Missouri River and Knife River valleys. These temporary village locations were chosen based on availability, suitable protection form harsh winter weather, and defensibility from intruders. Cottonwood stands in the bottomland forest provided timber for earthlodge construction and fuel, and bark for horse fodder. Game also sought refuge in the bottomland forests. These were vital resources necessary for winter survival. , During late autumn and through the winter until March, the summer villages were largely abandoned-with the Mandans and Hidatsas taking up residence in earthlodges that were smaller in size, but constructed on the same plan as those of the summer lodges, according to Prince Maximilian. Travel between the winter villages and Fort Clark was accomplished using dog sleds, on foot, and sometimes on horseback, as is depicted in Karl Bodmer's artwork. Prince Maximilian reported on December 3, 1833: , "The Mandan village near the fort was now entirely forsaken by the inhabitants.... After proceeding about an hour and a half we reached the village in the wood, which is the winter residence of the inhabitants of Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush." , Anthropologist Gilbert Wilson relayed that his Hidatsa informants stated that the winter earthlodges were completed in about a week. , Activities in the winter villages included subsistence-related chores as well as recreation. Women were observed carrying firewood and tanning hides. Winter bison hunts also were staged from villages. The lodges were often more tightly clustered in the winter villages as compared to the more expansive summer village settlement plans. In the spring of 1838, the Mandans, upon returning from their winter village, learned that the Arikaras had taken possession of the summer village where they would reside until 1861.