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The land that is now South Dakota was once home to the agrarian Arikara peoples and the nomadic Dakota,
or Sioux, peoples. Europeans arrived in 1742, when French explorers, the La Verendrye Brothers,
arrived and claimed present-day Pierre for France.
During the 19th century, the Sioux drove the Arikara away from the region; the Sioux would dominate
the region through the middle of the century. The U.S. acquired the land in the Louisiana Purchase,
and explorers Lewis and Clark led their expedition through the region from 1804 to 1806. Many fur
traders came to the region and founded posts, such as the American Fur Company.
The latter half of the 19th century witnessed a migration of speculators and farmers west from
Minnesota and Iowa. Land companies were established, towns were planned, and a treaty with the Sioux
resulted in the opening of land between the Big Sioux and Missouri Rivers. In 1861, the Dakota
Territory was established, encompassing modern-day North and South Dakota, eastern Wyoming, and eastern
Montana, with Yankton as its capital.
By 1872, the railroad had arrived in Yankton, and the land opened up to European immigrants
including Germans, Scandinavians, and Russians. A gold rush occurred following rumors of gold in the
Black Hills. This led to warfare between the Sioux and those seeking mining rights, ultimately ending
in the defeat of George A. Custer in 1876 by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Gall during the battle of
Little Bighorn. However, white settlement surged forward, and more Native American land was acquired.
Tragedy abounded for Native Americans between the eradication of the buffalo, the death of Sitting
Bull, the massacre at Wounded Knee, and the advent of white settlers’ diseases, resulting in the end
of Native American resistance in the region.
Meanwhile, with gold lust abounding, western legends formed apace, with the likes of Calamity Jane and
Wild Bill Hickok marking the day, and towns Deadwood and Lead witnessing glory days. South Dakota
became a state on November 2, 1889, with North Dakota also becoming a separate state. Despite the lack
of gold wealth for South Dakota, success arrived for some via cattle ranching. Railroad building
continued, and the Dakota land boom exploded. As the century drew to a close, however, hardship
arrived via natural disaster. The famed "long winter" of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s stories,
occurring from 1886 to 1887, destroyed cattle, ending a heyday of bonanza farming. Droughts brought
increased misery to farmers. However, South Dakota rebounded.
The 20th century brought railroad extension and continued expansion of agriculture. However,
periods of drought plagued the land. South Dakota would experience cycles of boom and bust related to
drought, the Great Depression, and subsequent emigration. Following World War II, prosperity returned
to the Mount Rushmore State. Farming techniques evolved, resulting in increased livestock and
agricultural production, albeit displacing many small farmers. Technology and irrigation enabled
protection against natural disasters. The latter part of the century witnessed continued
diversification of the state’s economy, in which service, finance, tourism, and trade became important.
In the 21st century, South Dakota continues its evolution of innovation, with the promise of the
biotechnology and life science industry adding to its ensured success in the future.
Many notable individuals have called South Dakota their home. These include TV newscaster Tom
Brokaw; authors Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose Wilder Lane, Joseph Hansen; congressman Tom Daschle;
artists Harvey Dunn, Oscar Howe, and Terry Redlin; actors Cheryl Ladd, Dorothy Provine, Mamie Van
Doren, Catherine Bach, and Russell Means; sculptors Gutzon Borglum and Korczak Ziolkowski; Oglala
chiefs Crazy Horse and Red Cloud; Sioux chief Rain-in-the-Face Hunkpapa; Hunkpapa Sioux chief Sitting
Bull; opera singer Jess Thomas; senator and vice president Hubert H. Humphrey; physicist E. O.
Lawrence; game show host Bob Barker; astronaut Michael E. Fossum; James Butler "Wild Bill"
Hickok; Martha J. Burke, a.k.a. "Calamity Jane", and numerous others.
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