River Basin Surveys Papers, No. 28: The Dance Hall of the Santee Bottoms on the Fort Berthold Reservation, Garrison Reservoir, North Dakota

Abstract

Published as a series sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology, the “River Basin Surveys Papers” are a collection of archeological investigations focused on areas now flooded by the completion of various dam projects in the United States. The River Basin Surveys Papers (numbered 1-39) were mostly published in bundles with 5-6 papers in each bundle. In collaboration with the United States (US) National Park Service and the US Bureau of Reclamation, the US Department of the Interior, and the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Smithsonian Institution pulled archeological and paleontological remains from several sites prior to losing access to the sites due to flooding. The Smithsonian Institution calls this project the Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program. Paper number 28 describes the Dance Hall of Santee Bottoms, which was a standing structure at the time of investigation (1953). The author describes the hall as “in good condition” and reports that it was likely last used in 1946. The hall was built by a group of Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara led by Old Dog of Elbowoods who fractured from a local group and formed the “Santee Dancing Society.” This is a relatively short paper focused on the history and description of the dance hall. This paper includes photographs and illustrations.https://commons.und.edu/indigenous-gov-docs/1041/thumbnail.jp

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