Pierre: South Dakota's Capital

Pierre, South Dakota, is located in the exact geographical center of South Dakota. This is not an accident, in fact, as South Dakota is divided by the Missouri River. Its two main cities, Rapid City and Sioux Falls, are located on either side of the river. Since its beginnings as the Dakota Territory, the capital has bounced around a bit, going from Yankton, to Bismark, ND, to Pierre temporarily [1]. In 1890, a public vote was held, where Pierre was voted the capital, mainly due to its location, with Huron coming in second place. This vote was confirmed in 1904, and Pierre has been the capital ever since.

The Arikara and Sioux tribes were the original inhabitants of the area where Pierre is now located. The first known contact with the tribes in this area came from the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, and in 1817 the first permanent settlement by non-Native Americans was created [2]. This site, Fort Chouteau, is found on the northern edge of Fort Pierre, which is the western suburb of modern-day Pierre.

Fort Chouteau was originally a fur trading fort, created by the American Fur Company in 1832, and happened to be one of their most lucrative trading posts. By trading guns, shot, powder, tobacco, blankets, cloth, sugar, salt, coffee, and beads, the company was able to get an average of 17,000 buffalo robes per year from the local tribes and created an excellent profit for the American Fur Company [3].

This is one of the very first indications of how American settlers began to take advantage of the Native tribes. Rather than giving them a reasonable share of the profits, or educating them on why they were so valuable out east, the fur traders took every advantage they could in order to gain profit. They did not care about the long-term effects that this trade was having on the buffalo population, and neither did they seem to care about the Native tribes; they cared about profit alone. Fort Chouteau stayed in the hands of the American Fur Company, doing great business until it was sold to the Army in 1855 [3]. The Army only used the fort for two years, though, when it was dismantled in order to build Fort Randall, much farther south on the Missouri River.

The fort was crucial in establishing a white presence in this area, setting up the modern-day city of Pierre. While nothing is left of it today besides a historical site, its memory still lives on, in both the patriotic sentiment of the residents of Pierre, but also in how the actions of the fort's occupants represent the typical feelings of most past and present South Dakotans towards Native Americans.

30 years later, in 1880, Pierre started to become the city it is now known as today. Founded in 1880 as the western terminus of the Chicago and North Western Railway, it was named after the former fort, which was had been named after its owner [2]. Today, there is also the city of Fort Pierre, right across the river, which is essentially the same city, but a different municipality and a different time zone, as the Missouri River is the boundary between the Central and Mountain Time Zones in South Dakota. The railway started to help the city grow dramatically, as it provided another way of accessing the city, rather than just the Missouri River. As seen in the picture on the right, Charles Hyde was quite the influential figure in developing the up and coming city of Pierre. Hyde did some major developmental projects that still exist in the city today, including the St. Charles Hotel, and through trickery helped grow the city even more. President Taft even had to pardon Charles Hyde, since some of his claims were so outrageous that they were considered false advertising.

Pierre today is now a city of over 13,000 people as of the 2010 census, with a growing suburb area and a beautiful landscape. While there are no major cities nearby, as Sioux Falls and Rapid City are over four hours away, Pierre becomes a bustling city during the first three months of the year, as the part-time legislature meets there. As Pierre is the political capital and geographical center of South Dakota, it stands to reason that it would set the example for how Native Americans are treated throughout the state. This is grounds for worrying, however, as while Pierre is surrounded by many various Native American tribes as shown by the map below, it is evident that Native Americans are treated as secondhand, considered at a lower priority than the average Caucasian South Dakotan.

In Pierre, there are many examples to this day of the discrepancies between how Native Americans and white people are remembered and glorified. In some instances, respect is shown, such as in the flag display inside of the capital, where not only the South Dakota flag is shown but numerous tribal flags. Also, Pierre's old flag used color symbolism to represent the Native American presence [4]. However, there are many other examples in which either Native Americans are either ignored or poorly represented. Two examples of this can be found inside of the South Dakota State Capital.

This image is found underneath the barrel vault as you would enter the capital from the front doors. Walking up the main steps, you are greeted by this image: Two Native Americans are greeted by a white angel, come to bring them blessings. This demonstrates the view that European settlers when coming to territories such as those in South Dakota, were essentially angels to the Native Americans, bringing them civilization and technology, and educating them. This belief ignores the culture of the Native Americans and treats them as uncivilized. While seemingly innocuous at first, this image which is clearly visible to any vistor demonstrates a lack of respect for Native American culture.

Another such image is found in a mural located inside of the South Dakota House of Representatives. Located right above the speaker's chair, this mural captures the same sort of concept as the previous picture. Again, white settlers are coming over with an angel to enlighten and civilize the Native Americans. This image is also in a very obvious place and can initially be perceived as something nice and serene, but the connotation behind the image is certainly not something to be respected. There is also a seemingly Christian tie to evangelism demonstrated in this painting, as the caption underneath it says "The Peace That Passes Understanding." This seems to indicate that these settlers are also bringing Christianity to the Native Americans, and trying to force a new culture on them and replace it with one of their own. This does not seem like something the representatives of the people of South Dakota should be venerating by putting it in their meeting area.

Pierre has the opportunity and the location to be a hub for reconciliation and diversity, due to its unique geographical location and political clout. However, due to a lack of prioritization of Native American relations and a political party that seems not to care, many of these opportunities are being wasted and often damage is being done. As projects such as the Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Site are being ignored and murals are allowed to remain in place, these barriers must be eradicated and the spirit of unity must be embraced. Since these projects have been started, it seems like there is hope. However, that hope is being allowed to die, and that seed of hope should not be left in the dirt to be crushed but rather tended, nurtured, and grown into a healthy relationship between the Native American population of South Dakota and the rest of its inhabitants.

“5a13c101cfede.Image.Jpg (1700×1133).” Accessed December 12, 2020. https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/capjournal.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/99/49919bdc-ce81-11e7-b7e3-075758551009/5a13c101cfede.image.jpg?resize=1700%2C1133.

[5] “CRPT-106srpt368.Pdf.” Accessed December 12, 2020. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-106srpt368/pdf/CRPT-106srpt368.pdf

“File:SD Capitol.Jpg.” In Wikipedia. Accessed December 12, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SD_Capitol.jpg.

[3] Fort Pierre South Dakota Official Website. “Fort Pierre Chouteau.” Accessed December 12, 2020. https://www.fortpierre.com/attractions/fort-pierre-chouteau/.

“Fort-Pierre-Chouteau.Jpg (463×307).” Accessed December 12, 2020. https://www.fortpierre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/fort-pierre-chouteau.jpg.

[2] Gomez, Vanessa. “Have You Ever Wondered: How Did Pierre Become the Capital of South Dakota?” https://www.dakotanewsnow.com. Accessed December 12, 2020. https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/content/news/Have-you-ever-wondered-How-did-Pierre-become-the-capital-of-South-Dakota-454293713.html.

[4] North American Vexillological Association / Association nord-américaine de vexillologie. “Pierre, South Dakota:” Raven: A Journal of Vexillology 9 (2002): 262–64. https://doi.org/10.5840/raven2002/20039/10105.

Peirre-Sd-Bat-Removal-300x175.Jpg (300×175). Accessed December 12, 2020. https://1rbm5s4aaavz1kp0wq3fk8zc-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2019/03/peirre-sd-bat-removal-300x175.jpg.

[1] “Pierre | South Dakota, United States | Britannica.” Accessed December 12, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/place/Pierre-South-Dakota.

“ReservationsMap.Jpg (500×576).” Accessed December 12, 2020. http://www.sdibaonline.org/images/ReservationsMap.jpg.

Any other images not listed were taken by Elisha Doerr, November 2020.