South Dakota State Archives Manuscript Collections
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South Dakota State Archives Manuscript Collections A Narrative History of Crow Creek Reservation and Fort Thompson Community with Special Emphasis Upon the History of the Fort Thompson Vocational Boarding School, 1863-1941. (H98-055) The collection consists of a manuscript prepared by principal Adolph G. Johnson of the Fort Thompson Community School, Crow Creek Indian Agency, Fort Thompson (S.D.) dated April 1, 1941. As mentioned in the introduction, the manuscript was written, “for the purpose of providing the people of Crow Creek and Fort Thompson with a record of their past history.” And that the write-up will present, “a portrait of the people of Crow Creek Reservation history, folklore, scenery, cultural backgrounds, social and economic life and their growth and development.” The collection consists of a thirty page typewritten manuscript and fifty-six pages of accompanying black and white snapshot photographs. Photographs of students in 1887 and 1935 through 1941 are included along with buildings, and staff members. The bulk of the photographs date from the 1930s through the 1940s. H98-055 South Dakota State Historical Society A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF CROW CREEK RESERVATION AND FORT THOMPSON COMMUNITY WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS UPON THE HISTORY OF THE FORT THOMPSON VOCATIONAL BOARDING AND DAY SCHOOL, 1863-1941. Fort Thompson Community School Crow Creek Indian Agency Fort Thompson, South Dakota Adolph G. Johnson, Principal April 1, 1941 1 Foreword This “History of the Fort Thompson Community” was undertaken for the purpose of providing the people of Crow Creek and Fort Thompson with a record of their past history. To understand the community and ourselves we must know our inheritance—the qualities and creations from the past which condition the present. The childhood experiences of an individual explain to a degree the adult behavior of that individual. Similarly, the past experiences of a race of people are a key to an understanding of the present. A history must, therefore, be a life-story of the people about whom it is written. It is hoped that this little record presents a portrait of the people of Crow Creek Reservation history, folklore, scenery, cultural backgrounds, social and economic life and their growth and development. One does not realize the rich historical background of the people of this reservation until one undertakes a task such as writing this history. The history of Crow Creek and Fort Thompson are closely related to the history of our nation. The Missouri River was the main highway for travelers going to the Pacific Northwest. Fort Thompson was fortunate in being located on this highway. Past our doors have traveled the host of personages and settlers who were largely responsible for the settlement and development of our state, Montana, North Dakota and the Pacific Coast region. Many of these hardy frontiersmen and explorers are practically unknown to many of the people today. It is hoped that this history will help to create an appreciation for the efforts, courage and sacrifices made by these people. The writing of this history had its beginning in 1936 when I began to look for information and materials to use in our social science classes. Information readily available was extremely difficult to find. There was quite a store of information and material but it was bound up in old agency records, state historical records, and many records now found only in the Historical 2 Records of our neighboring state of North Dakota and Minnesota. Valuable information is found in writings of famous explorers and frontiersman such as Luther Kelly, known as Yellowstone Kelly, who knew this country almost as well as the Indians who lived here. Lewis and Clark’s Journal is also an excellent source of information. One source of records that has hardly been touched are the records left by military men who served on the frontier in the early years. Anthropology records would yield much more information on the cultural backgrounds of the people of Crow Creek Reservation than is given in this short story. To really do justice to this job would require months of full time research into past records. Much valuable information has been obtained from conversations with ‘old timers’ who are still living among us. A few more years and this fruitful source of information will be lost as there only a few real ‘old timers’ left. Mr. Joe Irving is possibly the only person living here at present who attended the early Mission Schools before Government took over the responsibility for the education of the Indian children. A request was received from Mr. George Wells, Superintendent of Indian Education for the Dakota area, that we write up the history of the Fort Thompson Community School. Since the larger project, the history of the Crow Creek Reservation, was already half completed, except for the typing, the history of the school has been included as part pf the history of the whole community. I wish to express my appreciation to all who have helped in supplying information and assistance in this undertaking. No doubt there are some errors in this history, but I have tried to get as accurate as possible from available existing sources of information. Errors are the result of mission rather commission. Adolph G. Johnson Principal 3 A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF FORT THOMPSON COMMUNITY The first inhabitants who lived in the Fort Thompson Community were, so far as can be known at this time, the Arickara or Ree Indians. How long the Arickara Indians lived in the central part of South Dakota near the Missouri River is largely a matter of speculation; but apparently it was for many generations. In examining the artifacts found buried in the bottom and near the top of their refuse piles near their former camps, one can notice a distinct growth in culture and artistic ability. From this evidence one would judge that they lived in this region for a very long time before the white man reached the shores of America. About forty miles from here at Ree Heights, South Dakota is a high hill that is said to have been used as a gathering place for ceremonies by the Ree Indians. No doubt their first means of transportation overland was walking and carrying their burdens on their backs. Later they used the travels and possibly used a tamed wolf to pull it. Other Indians also used this method of getting from place to place. The horse came into use in this territory much later and we can find no evidence that the Arickara Indians used the horse at the time they lived in the Fort Thompson Community. The Arickara Indians had quite substantial homes and apparently they lived in villages. Traces of these homes and villages are found near the mouth of Crow Creek and at other sites a few miles up the Missouri River from Ft. Thompson. Their winter homes consisted of round earth lodges such as have recently been reconstructed at Ft. Lincoln State Park, five miles south of Mandan North Dakota by Civilian Conservation Corps. These homes were very large and warm and sometimes several families (with their dogs and other property) used one lodge. 4 We do know that the Arickara Indians cultivated corn and vegetables. They made implements from shoulder blades of the buffalo, the chief implement being the hoe. The principal products were beans pumpkins, corn and squashes. The women did practically all the work in the garden and they lived constantly in their garden to protect them from insects and other wild animals. Needles, awls and other tools were made by the men and women from the long bones of animals. Some of them were used in making tents, clothing, etc. from the skins of animals. Narrow strips of rawhide were used for lacing. We do not know when the Arickara Indians began to tan animal skins by scraping off the flesh and manipulating it with their hands to make it soft and pliable. The chief weapon used by the Arickara Indians was the bow and arrow. They made the bows of ash and cedar and they were almost straight with a cord of rawhide extending from end to end. It was no easy task to bend the bow with sufficient force to kill an animal, especially a buffalo. The arrow was usually made of ash and was about two feet in length. A piece of flint or bone was attached to the point and at the other end a web of feather was inserted upon three sides so that the barbs aided the shaft to keep its course in flight. Each tribe had a special pattern of its own which is used almost exclusively in making arrows. From the form of these arrows it is possible to identify the makers of them quite accurately. The Arickaras made a small point about three-quarters of an inch in length and a half inch wide at the base. They were very thin and delicate. The hunting arrows were notched near the base so they might be attached firmly to the shaft and be recovered for further use, but the war arrows were loosely inserted into the split shaft that they might penetrate and remain in the body of the enemy. Page 2 5 The Sioux arrows are larger and heavier than those of the Arickara Indians and are about two inches long and an inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick in the middle. The war arrow has a wedge shape at the top for insertion in the split shaft, but the hunting arrow has a flat head upon it by means of which it can be bound to the shaft Horses were first introduced into the American continent by Europeans by way of South and Central America.