South Dakota State Historical Society
Archaeological Research Center

An Arikara Pot from the Lewis and Clark Site

This vessel was excavated at Lewis and Clark village on the Missouri River in Corson County, South Dakota. It is also known as Leavenworth village. The village is the last village built by the Arikaras in South Dakota and was visited by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804. The village also gained notoriety as the site of the first battle between the U.S. Army and the Indians in South Dakota, when it was attacked by a combined force of soldiers, fur traders, and Lakota Indians under the command of Col. Leavenworth in 1823. By the early 1830s the Arikara had abandoned the village and moved north into North Dakota.

This vessel clearly shows the marks left by a grooved paddle used to shape the clay. The rim is unusual in that it is not decorated.