Near Garrison in McLean County, North Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Encampments

Indian Hills

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer

1. Encampments Marker

Captions: (upper left) Typical Earthlodge Layout.; (bottom) Typical Earthlodge.

Inscription. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara used various kinds of dwelling before and after coming together as a single group in the Nineteenth Century. Earthlodges were the largest of the dwellings. These were round structures based upon four large posts 12 to 15 feet long, about 10 feet apart, and set into a one or two foot foundation laid out in a square. Along the outer perimeter of the foundation 13 to 16 shorter posts, five or six feet long were set up this stringers laid from one end to another of these posts. Across the four central posts, substantial beams were laid followed by rafters laid from the beams to the stringers, close enough together so the upper ends touched . Lighter poles were erected between the post and formed the outer ring. With the framework complete, a six-inch mat of willow boughs was laid over it. A layer of dry grass came next, followed by a layer of earth two or 3 feet deep. The entire structure may also have been covered with hard, water proof clay.
Such Earthlodge "summer" villages were actually occupied during the greater part of the year. For the three of four months during the coldest weather,

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

the people would move to "winter" villages in the heavily timbered bottomlands. Their dwelling there were similar to the summer lodges, but smaller and perhaps nearly conical in shape.
These habitations showed a good deal of individual variation between the tribes and some minor changes as time passed. The Mandan left open plazas about 150 feet across with ceremonial lodges on the north side. The Arikara had ceremonial lodges in the center of the village and open areas around it for dancing. The Hidatsa did not have separate ceremonial lodges until they adopted it from the Mandan.
There was a tendency to choose village sites that could be readily defended, such as the people occupying Nightwalker's Butte. Some required a protective wall on all sides. Euro-American visitors in the early Nineteenth Century often commented on the poor condition of such palisades, noting they were often used for firewood.
Several of the surrounding hills and ridges have stone circles located on them. The first of these features are generally believed to have appeared at least 2,000 years ago. Perhaps the most common origin of stone circles

Encampments Marker, on the left image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer

2. Encampments Marker, on the left

was to hold the cover of a tipi to the ground by placing them around the bottom of a tipi's hide. Stone circles were not only used for family or single habitation structures, but also children's play house, dog whelping structures, council lodges, prayer rings, and other ceremonial, religious, or spiritual functions. Other stone circles may be the remains of small Medicine Wheels. Stone circles while still common in North Dakota, Montana, and other Plains states, began vanishing with the introduce of Euro-American agricultural activities and other ground breaking activities such as surface coal mining. As a result, stone circles are an increasing rare find in may (sic) parts of the Plains. A rare feature that may be found in bottomlands or the benches of ridges, buttes, and high hills is conical timber lodges. Sometimes mistaken as being a small tipi missing the hide covering, ethnographic information indicates that these features were used for short-term or special purpose activities such as men's hunting, eagle trapping, war, or spiritual functions. As with stone circles, it is likely that conical timber lodges were also used for

Paid Advertisement

purpose known only to tribal members.

Erected by Indian Hill Resort.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 47° 35.888′ N, 102° 5.877′ W. Marker is near Garrison, North Dakota, in McLean County. It can be reached from 73rd Avenue NorthWest @ 14th Street NorthWest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 14th Street NorthWest, Garrison ND 58540, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Dakota’s Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation,

in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe,

in the Drift Prairie,

and on the Missouri Plateau.

It is also in the American Lewis & Clark Corridor,

on the prairies,

and on the Northern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Contemporary Towns (here, next to this marker); Four Bears Bridge (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lewis & Clark (about 400 feet away); Sakakawea (about 500 feet away); Lake Sakakawea (about 500 feet away); Nightwalker's Butte (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Nightwalker's Butte (approx. 0.2 miles away); Geology (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Garrison.

More about this marker. The marker is located on the Nux Baa Ga (meansing “All the People” in Arikara) Trail.

Also see . . . Mandan Earth Lodges. Pictures of an earthlodge construction sequence. (Submitted on September 22, 2025, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 22, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 22, 2025, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 46 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 22, 2025, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.