Geographical landmarks: Their importance in Native American history

BISMARCK, N.D. ( KXNET ) — Dakota Goodhouse, a historian, spoke to other historians and museum professionals at the Mountain-Plains Museum Association (MPMA) Conference at the Bismarck Event Center on Tuesday, October 8, to discuss why several Great Plains landmarks were given different names by various Native American tribes.

Dakota Goodhouse, also a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, shared his knowledge of the many geographical landmarks located across the Great Plains and in North Dakota.

“The rivers, streams, summits, hills, and places of interest all have a name and sometimes more than one,” he states.

In his presentation, Goodhouse explained that among those places, White Butte — which is North Dakota’s highest point — was one of many important landmarks that are part of Native American culture and history.

“It is significant to the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne, and even other tribes who used to live out here,” he continues.

Goodhouse also says before the settlers came to the area, each tribe had its own names for many sacred landmarks in the state — including Heart River, Knife River, and Killdeer Mountain.

“No matter our differences in language or culture,” Goodhouse adds, “sometimes there’s one place that is so significant that we all call it by a name.”

From his own research, Goodhouse says the different names given to the same landmarks signify the diverse relationships each tribe had with their landscape. This includes Killdeer Mountain, which he says the Dakota referred to as ‘Lookout Hill’.

“Why did they call it that?” asks Goodhouse. “Well, I can also go there… and when I reach the summit, I can look out and see for several miles. I can appreciate why Dakota people call it Lookout Hill.”

According to Goodhouse, it is not enough to just know the different names of landmarks and sacred places. — it is also important to gain an understanding of the meanings behind those names.

“The Hidatsa call it the ‘Singing Butte’, he says, “and Dakota Lakota people will call it ‘Takahokuty,” or ‘the place where they killed the deer’. I think it’s a significant part of the story to know those names. It completes the relationship to the landscape.”

Goodhouse says knowledge is just a part of learning about Native Americans and the places they call home — and that to properly understand and portray them, people also have to gain a better understanding of their languages and cultures, which can not always be found in history books.

“When we go back to our own museums and institutions,” he concludes, “it is important to recognize what the landscape was. Just because it may not have been written, doesn’t mean it wasn’t unknown.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KX NEWS.