What We Do
The Mitchell Site, a National Historic Landmark, has been at the forefront of Northern Plains archaeology for more than four decades and is the only active archaeological site open to the public in South Dakota.
About Us
The Mitchell Prehistoric Indigenous Archaeological Site is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and designated National Historic Landmark. The Site encompasses the excavation of a 1,000-year-old Indigenous Plains Village preserved within the Thomsen Center Archeodome, as well as the Boehnen Memorial Museum and surrounding grounds. Together, these facilities support archaeological research, collections care, and public interpretation, engaging local, state, and national audiences in rigorous scholarly work presented in an accessible and educational context.
The Villagers of the Mitchell Site
The people who lived at the Mitchell Site circa AD 1000 were part of the Initial Middle Missouri cultural tradition, with close cultural and economic connections to the Mississippian urban center of Cahokia. At its height, the village is estimated to have supported a population of approximately 600 people. Archaeological evidence suggests that these villagers lived in earthen lodges and practiced a mixed subsistence economy that included agriculture and hunting. They are considered ancestral to the Mandan people and played a role in the development of agricultural practices, including early corn varieties that continue to be cultivated today. The village was also part of a vast Indigenous trade network that extended across much of the continent several centuries prior to European colonization.
Our Mission
Our mission is to protect the Mitchell Site, advance archaeological research, and expand public understanding of the Indigenous community which inhabited this place approximately 1,000 years ago. In doing so, we seek to foster respect for the past, engage thoughtfully with current scholarship, and support responsible stewardship through education, research, and public dialogue.