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

Nightwalker's Butte

Indian Hills

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer

1. Nightwalker's Butte Marker

Captions: (upper left them counter-clockwise) 1952 excavation by the Smithsonian Institute as part of the Missouri River Basin Survey.; Rimsherd fragment a typical Hidarsa ceramic pot.; Stone circles are common across the plains. They are believed to have been for weighing down teepee covers and for ceremonial purposes.; Bone effigy of a salamander.

Inscription. Uncovering the Past
Nightwalker's Village was extensively excavated by archaeologists from the Smithsonian Institute in the 1950s, as part of the Missouri River Basin Surveys. Low circular mounds and depressions in the grass hinted at the locations of earthlodges. The excavations of the small circular houses (rarely exceeding 20 feet in diameter) exposed timber post holes, fireplaces, trenches, pit openings, deep roasting pits, and cultural materials such as stone tools, chipped stone debris, and pottery fragments. Artifacts were abundant and included hoes and knives made from the shoulder blades of bison, bone and antler fleshers, short sled-runners of bison rib, and shell objects. Very few metal objects were found, such as arrow points and knife blades, suggesting that village occupation came before frequent contact with white traders, perhaps during the latter part of the 1700s.
Archaeologists found a great number of small fragments of food bones. These fragments suggest the villagers shared the Northern Plains practice of boiling and pounding bones to extract grease and marrow. A surprisingly high proportions

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

of the bone remains consisted of bison and elk, rather than the more common deer or antelope. Archaeologists also uncovered small stone circles, four feet in diameter, which they interpret as evidence of sweat lodges, In places, the walls of the sweat lodges overlapped the walls of the earthlodges, leading some to suggest the sweat lodges may have pre or post-dated the village occupation. In any case, also on the butte top is evidence of earlier occupants, 30 projects points and numerous pottery pieces assigned to the Woodland period, dating from the first millennium A.D. This picturesque butte was a prime location for hunting camps for earlier people, as well as for the villages of Nightwalker's clan.

Erected by Indian Hills Resort.

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

Location. 47° 35.965′ N, 102° 5.689′ W. Marker is in Garrison, North Dakota, in McLean County. It can be reached from the intersection of 73rd Avenue NorthWest and 14th Street NorthWest.

Nightwalker's Butte Marker, on the right image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer

2. Nightwalker's Butte Marker, on the right

The marker is located on the Nux Baa Ga (meaning “All the People” in Arikara) Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: 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: A different marker also named Nightwalker's Butte (here, next to this marker); Lake Sakakawea (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Sakakawea (about 500 feet away); Lewis & Clark (about 500 feet away); Geology (about 600 feet away); Contemporary Towns (approx. 0.2 miles away); Encampments (approx. 0.2 miles away); Four Bears Bridge (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map

Paid Advertisement

of all markers in Garrison.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 24, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 24, 2025, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 71 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 24, 2025, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.