Blood Run Site
Encyclopedia
The Blood Run Site is an archaeological site on the border of the US states of Iowa
and South Dakota
. The site was essentially populated for 8,500 years, within which earthworks structures were built by the Oneota
Culture and occupied descendant tribes such as the Ioway, Otoe
, Missouri, and shared with Quapaw
and later Kansa
, Osage, Omaha
(who were both Omaha and Ponca
at the time) people.
Arikara
, Dakota
, and Cheyenne
were regular traders with the village and Nakota/Dakota and Arikara people also regularly resided there in later years. The site overlaps the Iowa and South Dakota border, near Sioux Falls, South Dakota
, between Granite, Iowa
, and Shindler, South Dakota
.
Although declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1970, its integrity is endangered by gravel quarrying and looting. The site was substantially looted and areas wholly destroyed by settlers and looters through the late 1930s and by subsequent generations of collectors. A possible snake mound rivaling the Serpent Mound
in Ohio was used for railroad fill.
Blood Run was mapped in the early 18th century by French voyageurs trading with the village, which was then populated largely by Omaha people, but other cultures shared the area, about 480 mounds existed and a population of 10,000 Native people was documented in the corresponding census. In the late 19th century, 176 mounds were still visible. Today 78 mounds still exist, mostly burial. In 1987 the State of Iowa acquired a prominent portion of the site for a state park. The State of South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Commission voted to acquire the area as state park land in January 2003.
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. The site was essentially populated for 8,500 years, within which earthworks structures were built by the Oneota
Oneota
Oneota is a designation archaeologists use to refer to a cultural complex that existed in the eastern plains and Great Lakes area of what is now the United States from around AD 900 to around 1650 or 1700. The culture is believed to have transitioned into various Macro-Siouan cultures of the...
Culture and occupied descendant tribes such as the Ioway, Otoe
Otoe
Otoe may refer to*Otoe tribe, a Native American people*Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, a federally recognized tribe in Oklahoma*Otoe, Nebraska*Otoe County, Nebraska...
, Missouri, and shared with Quapaw
Quapaw
The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas.They are federally recognized as the Quapaw Tribe of Indians.-Government:...
and later Kansa
Kaw (tribe)
The Kaw Nation are an American Indian people of the central Midwestern United States. The tribe known as Kaw have also been known as the "People of the South wind", "People of water", Kansa, Kaza, Kosa, and Kasa. Their tribal language is Kansa, classified as a Siouan language.The toponym "Kansas"...
, Osage, Omaha
Omaha (tribe)
The Omaha are a federally recognized Native American nation which lives on the Omaha Reservation in northeastern Nebraska and western Iowa, United States...
(who were both Omaha and Ponca
Ponca
The Ponca are a Native American people of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan-language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma...
at the time) people.
History
Arikara
Arikara are a group of Native Americans in North Dakota...
, Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
, and Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
were regular traders with the village and Nakota/Dakota and Arikara people also regularly resided there in later years. The site overlaps the Iowa and South Dakota border, near Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
, between Granite, Iowa
Granite, Iowa
Granite is an unincorporated community in Lyon County, Iowa, United States, near the historic Blood Run Site and the Gitchie Manitou State Preserve.-Geography:...
, and Shindler, South Dakota
Shindler, South Dakota
Shindler is an unincorporated community in the northeastern corner of Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 584.-Geography:...
.
Although declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1970, its integrity is endangered by gravel quarrying and looting. The site was substantially looted and areas wholly destroyed by settlers and looters through the late 1930s and by subsequent generations of collectors. A possible snake mound rivaling the Serpent Mound
Serpent Mound
The Great Serpent Mound is a -long, three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. Maintained within a park by the Ohio Historical Society, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the United...
in Ohio was used for railroad fill.
Blood Run was mapped in the early 18th century by French voyageurs trading with the village, which was then populated largely by Omaha people, but other cultures shared the area, about 480 mounds existed and a population of 10,000 Native people was documented in the corresponding census. In the late 19th century, 176 mounds were still visible. Today 78 mounds still exist, mostly burial. In 1987 the State of Iowa acquired a prominent portion of the site for a state park. The State of South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Commission voted to acquire the area as state park land in January 2003.