Knife River Indian Villages Archeological Program: An Overview

The Knife River Indian Villages are located in North Dakota near the confluence of the Knife and Missouri Rivers, just north of the contemporary town of Stanton, North Dakota. A number of relatively undisturbed archeological sites occur along this stretch of river, an area which historically was the homeland of both the Hidatsa and Mandan Indians. The Knife River Indian Villages are the northernmost cluster of sites. They are the final major village complex representing the pinnacle of Hidatsa and Mandan cultural development in an unbroken occupational sequence spanning at least the preceding five centuries.

Historically the villages are rich in associations with prominent figures in the history of the American westward expansion as well as the earlier fur trade era. There is a wealth of historical data pertaining to the Lewis and Clark visits to the villages (1804-1806) and later documentation by the famous artists George Catlin and Karl Bodmer (1832-1834). Throughout this period the Hidatsa and Mandan were affected dramatically by the Euro-American influence resulting in unparalled change and innovation in both material culture and social organization.