Feeding the River -- Knife River Indian Villages NHS, Stanton ND - North Dakota Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site is a fascinating glimpse into the way that Indian tribes along the Missouri and Knife Rivers lived before the Europeans arrived.

This National Historic Site also contains the evidence of ancient Indian villages that existed in this area along the Knife River.

The waymarked historical marker reads as follows:

"Feeding the River

Hidatsa Fishing Techniques

From archaeological evidence, we know how they had not sufficient. The villagers used bone fishhooks at first, but metal hooks began to appear after the 1790s - a result of trade with Europeans. From catfish spines and fish scales found in middens, we know what the villagers caught: catfish, goldeneye, and sucker.

It was not enough to drop a line in the river: one had to be spiritually prepared. Before fishing, women and old men of the Bear Society said certain prayers, and performed ceremonial songs to attract the fish. Prayers and ceremonies were not isolated events but part of everyday life.

[drawing]

Bone or shell fish hook (3 times actual size). The notches hold the fish line.

[drawing]
Fish Trap

To make a fish trap, willow panels were thrust into the sand and anchored with four posts. The smell of the maggoty meat tied inside would attract fish.

1. Cottonwood sapling with maggoty meat tied to it. The leaves were left on so they would Russell when fish tugged on the meat.

2. Screen of woven willows extended to float maggots downstream to lure fish to the trap"

Roadside: no City: no Other: yes

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/01/2023 Benchmark Blasterz visited it