Backstage Pass to North Dakota History

This blog takes you behind the scenes of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Get a glimpse at a day-in-the-life of the staff, volunteers, and partners who make it all possible. Discover what it takes to preserve North Dakota's natural and cultural history.

When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were staying at Fort Mandan during their famous expedition in winter 1804, they often traded blacksmith work with the local Mandan and Hidatsa villages in exchange for surplus farm crops. The Mandan and Hidatsa people had a long history of trade. French, British, and Spanish fur traders had established trade with the local people for at least a century prior. But trade among the Indigenous nations of North America goes back much further.

The villages along the Missouri River were part of a trade network among various Indigenous nations that stretched across the continent. People traded natural resources found in each region. The area along the Knife River offered flint. Raw copper came from the Great Lakes region. Shells were traded from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts. And the Rocky Mountains were a source of obsidian.

Surplus and Trade exhibit with a tribal trade routes map and three small boxes with artifacts.

The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn features examples of archaeological remains found at former village sites, including trade goods such as copper projectile points and ornaments, shell pendants, and obsidian arrowheads.

Archaeological evidence suggests that this trade had occurred for many centuries prior to contact with European fur traders and explorers. One archaeological site, the Menoken Indian Village State Historic Site east of Bismarck, dates to the Late Plains Woodland period, around A.D. 1200. Archaeological digs at the site have revealed artifacts made of these same resources, including coastal shells, copper, and obsidian. Experts believe these resources were being traded through down-the-line exchange, a practice where recipients of supplies keep a portion and pass the remainder forward.

The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn stands at this crossroads where commerce and culture once intersected. Some of our exhibits showcase the resources from this area that would have been offered for trade. Programs such as our tour of Fort Mandan State Historic Site offer hands-on education into the role played by these trade networks in President Thomas Jefferson’s goals for expanding U.S. commerce. During the tour, we explore not only Jefferson’s mission but also the impact it had on the Native American people here. The Interpretive Center’s exhibit on Fort Clark explores the continued exchange of culture and trade 30 years after the expedition, diving deeper into the implications of westward expansion and the negative effects that came with it.

Lewis and Clark were witness to this exchange not far from this site. They saw firsthand a trade of knowledge, resources, and culture already taking place between the Mandan and Hidatsa nations and the fur traders. This not only aided the expedition but was one of the reasons they selected this area to be their winter home. To explore more about this trade and the fascinating history of the area, plan a visit to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan State Historic Site.