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Museum Education Kits 

The South Dakota State Historical Society offers education kits to South Dakota classrooms and other groups. Each kit contains hands-on objects, relevant lesson text, ready-to-use worksheets, and a variety of fun and unique activities. For more information or to schedule an Education Kit please contact Ronette Rumpca by e-mail Ronette.Rumpca@state.sd.us or telephone 605-773-6011.


South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit
Fur Trade: Bridging Two Worlds

Lone Dog Winter Count Key

  1. 1800-1801 Thirty Dakotas were killed by Crow Indians. In this chart, black lines always signify the death of Dakotas killed by their enemies.
  2. 1801-1802 A human being with many marks was always the sign of an epidemic or some disease such as small pox or measles. The interpretation is, "many died of small pox."
  3. 1802-1803 A Dakota stole horses with shoes on. This means they would have had to stolen them directly from the Europeans or from some other Indians who had before obtained them from the Europeans as the Indians never shod their horses.
  4. 1803-1804 They stole "curly horses" or horses with curly hides, from the Crows.
  5. 1804-1805 The Dakota had a calumet dance and then off on a war expedition.
  6. 1805-1806 The Crows killed eight Dakotas.
  7. 1806-1807 A Dakota kills an Arikara (Ree) just as he was about to capture an eagle.
  8. 1807-1808 Red-Coat, a chief, was killed.
  9. 1808-1809 The Dakota who had killed the Ree shown in this record for 1806-1807 was killed himself by the Rees.
  10. 1809-1810 A chief, Little Beaver, set fire to a trading store and was killed.
  11. 1810-1811 This picture has to do with Black Stone, the medicine man. The symbol is a white buffalo skull over his head.
  12. 1811-1812 The circle is a dirt lodge, while the interior circles represent heads. Interpreted, it shows that 27 Arikaras or Mandans were killed in a dirt lodge by the Dakotas.
  13. 1812-1813 The device is a lasso. Wild horses were first run down and caught by the Dakotas.
  14. 1813-1814 Whooping cough killed many.
  15. 1814-1815 A Dakota kills an Arapaho in his lodge. The symbol represents a tomahawk stuck in the man’s skull.
  16. 1815-1816 The Sans Arcs make a dirt lodge at Peoria Bottom, near Pierre.
  17. 1816-1817 "Buffalo were plenty." The symbol crudely represents a side of buffalo.
  18. 1817-1818 A trading post of dry timber was built at Ft. Pierre by Joseph La Frombois.
  19. 1818-1819 The measles broke out and many died. (Note that the small pox epidemic represented in 1801-1802 showed larger marks on a human body.)
  20. 1819-1820 Another trading post was built. This time by La Conte also at Ft. Pierre.
  21. 1820-1821 The trader, La Conte, gave Two Arrow a war dress for his bravery.
  22. 1821-1822 This symbol represents a very brilliant meteor falling to earth.
  23. 1822-1823 Another trading house was built at the mouth of the Bad River.
  24. 1823-1824 The event portrayed is the attack of the US forces, accompanied by the Dakotas, upon the Arikara villages.
  25. 1824-1825 Swan, chief of the Two-Kettle tribe, had all of his horses killed.
  26. 1825-1826 Many Indians drowned in a horrible flood on the Missouri River. The symbol suggests heads appearing above a line of water.
  27. 1826-1827 Indians died a strange death after eating a rotting buffalo carcass while on the warpath.
  28. 1827-1828 Dead Arm, a Dakota, was stabbed by a Mandan and lost lots of blood.
  29. 1828-1829 A white man named Chadron built a dirt lodge.
  30. 1829-1830 A Yanktonai Dakota was killed by Bad-Arrow, or "Blackfoot" Lakota.
  31. 1830-1831 Twenty-three were killed in a bloody battle with the Crows.
  32. 1831-1832 One European named Le Beau, killed another named Kermel.
  33. 1832-1833 Lone Horn broke his leg on a buffalo hunt.
  34. 1833-1834 The great meteor shower observed all over the US on the night of Nov. 12 of that year.
  35. 1834-1835 The chief Medicine Hide was killed.
  36. 1835-1836 Lame Deer shot a Crow Indian with an arrow, drew it out, and show him again with the same arrow.
  37. 1836-1837 Plenty of buffalo again.
  38. 1837-1838 One hundred elk were killed on a big hunt.
  39. 1838-1839 A dirt lodge was built for Iron Horn.
  40. 1839-1840 The Dakotas killed an entire village of Snake or Shoshoni Indians.
  41. 1840-1841 The Dakotas made peace with the Cheyenne.
  42. 1841-1842 Feather-in-the-Ear stole 30 spotted ponies.
  43. 1842-1843 One Feather raised a large war party against the Crows.
  44. 1843-1844 The Sans Arcs made medicine to bring the buffalo.
  45. 1844-1845 The Minneconjous built a pine fort.
  46. 1845-1846 Plenty of buffalo meat, which is represented as hung upon poles and trees to dry.
  47. 1836-1847 Broken Leg died.
  48. 1847-1848 Two Man was killed.
  49. 1848-1849 Humpback was killed.
  50. 1849-1850 The Crows stole a large drove of horses (it is said 800) from the Brules.
  51. 1850-1851 "Old woman found in a buffalo." Perhaps an old woman who was sent off to die alone found shelter in the buffalo carcass.
  52. 1851-1852 Peace with the Crows.
  53. 1852-1853 The Nez Perce came to Lone Horn’s lodge at midnight.
  54. 1853-1854 Striped blankets brought by Europeans to the Indians.
  55. 1854-1855 Brave Bear was killed.
  56. 1855-1856 General Harney, with a hat, makes a treaty with the Dakotas. This was at Ft. Pierre in the spring of 1856.
  57. 1856-1857 A man with four horns holds out the same kind of ornamented pipestem shown in the character for 1804-1805, it being his badge of office.
  58. 1857-1858 The Dakotas killed a Crow woman. She is pierced by four arrows, and the peace made with the Crows in 1851-52 seems to have been short lived.
  59. 1858-1859 Lone Horn made buffalo "medicine," doubtless on account of the scarcity of that animal.
  60. 1859-1860 Big Crow, a Dakota chief, was killed by the Crows.
  61. 1860-1861 The elk makes medicine.
  62. 1861-1862 Buffalo were so plentiful that their tracks came close to the tipis.
  63. 1862-1863 Red Feather, a Minneconjou, was killed.
  64. 1863-1864 Eight Dakotas were killed by the Crows.
  65. 1864-1865 Four Crows were killed by the Dakotas.
  66. 1865-1866 Many horses died for want of grass.
  67. 1866-1867 Swan, father of "White Swan," died.
  68. 1867-1868 The flag indicates the treaty negotiations at Ft. Laramie that year.
  69. 1868-1869 Texas cattle were brought into the country.
  70. 1869-1870 There was an eclipse of the sun in August 1869.
  71. 1870-1871 The circle is a Crow fort, nearly surrounded, and the weapons used were guns for it is bullets that are flying. All but one of the Crows was killed in fact, and 14 Dakotas

Download Making a Winter Count (pdf)

Download Lone Dog Winter Count (pdf)

Download Lone Dog Winter Count Key (pdf)

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For More Information on Education Kits please contact:
Ronette Rumpca
Curator of Interpretations
605-773-6011
Ronette.Rumpca@state.sd.us

 

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