Awatixa Village -- Knife River Indian Villages NHS, Stanton ND
N 47° 20.425 W 101° 22.982
14T E 319986 N 5245748
An interpretive panel at the Knife River Indian Villages NHS explains the evidence of the Awatixa Village at Knife River Indian Villages NHS
Waymark Code: WM17GJG
Location: North Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 02/18/2023
Views: 1
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:
"AWATIXA VILLAGE
(Ah-wah-TEE-khah)
Disappearing Village Site
The river that nurtured Awatixa Village is erasing evidence of its existence. In 1798, explorer-trader David Thompson estimated fifty two earthlodges here. As of 1990, only thirtyone earthlodge depressions remained. Cutbank erosion and channel shifting had washed away at least six, partially destroyed another six, and modern farming had obliterated ten others. To protect the site from future flooding in ice jams, the park has constructed a berm along rivers edge.
Images remain. In 1832, George Caitlin visited the village, states several weeks, and painted the view from the opposite bank. Though Caitlin was a self-taught artist and his technique sometimes appears clumsy, his cultural impressions were accurate.
[diagram]
As many as four hundred people occupied this village from the late 1790s until 1834. They built this village after abandoning the earlier site, Awatixa Xi’e. In 1834 a Sioux raiding party burned the village.
[painting]
Most historians agree that Toussaint Charbonneau and probably his wife Sakakawea lived in this village. When Lewis and Clark camped in the area, they hired Charbonneau as an interpreter for the expedition."
Roadside: no
City: no
Other: yes
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