Local Partnership Expands Visibility for the Mitchell Site
New signage in downtown Mitchell highlights the Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum, thanks to a partnership with Mitchell Area Community Theatre.
We want to give a huge thank you to the Mitchell Area Community Theatre for letting us put up these signs to help point more people toward the Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum. This kind of local partnership is exactly how we grow awareness and get more visitors connected to the story of the site.
If you’re downtown, keep an eye out—you’ll start seeing more of these popping up!
Major Renovations at the Mitchell Site Archeodome
The Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum begins major Archeodome renovations, including new flooring and updated exhibit displays to improve visitor experience.
For the first time since the Archeodome’s construction 25 years ago, we’ve undertaken a comprehensive renewal of the space—beginning with the complete refinishing of the floors and extending to a full reimagining of our display cases, including updated content and improved layout for a more engaging visitor experience.
These improvements mark an important step in how we interpret and present the archaeological record to the public, ensuring that the stories of the Mitchell Site are communicated with greater clarity and impact.
We are deeply grateful to the Thomsen family for their continued support, which made these enhancements possible. Their longstanding commitment to the site remains instrumental in preserving and advancing this unique window into the past.
Mitchell Site Brings Archaeology to Avera Brady Residents
The Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum brought artifacts and archaeology education to residents at Avera Brady Health & Rehab in Mitchell, South Dakota.
Yesterday, I visited residents at Avera Brady Health & Rehab to share the story of the Village and the people who lived there more than 1,000 years ago.
Residents had the opportunity to examine real pottery fragments recovered from the site and learn how archaeologists study decoration, shape, and construction techniques to better understand daily life at the Mitchell Site.
Thank you to everyone at Avera Brady for the warm welcome and engaging conversation—it’s always a pleasure to share the history of the Village with our community.
Stepping Stones Volunteers Support Work at the Archeodome
Volunteers from Stepping Stones of Mitchell assisted with exhibit preparation and organization inside the Archeodome at the Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum.
We are incredibly grateful to Stepping Stones for spending time with us at the Archeodome today.
Their team came out to help clean, organize, and prepare the space for our upcoming display case layout. This photo captures one of the participants writing a personal reflection on what volunteering means to them and how service plays a role in their recovery journey.
Thank you to everyone from Stepping Stones for your hard work, openness, and generosity. We’re honored to share space with you.
Stepping Stones of Mitchell Visits the Mitchell Site
Stepping Stones of Mitchell visited the Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum to explore local archaeology, history, and the cultural landscape of a 1,000-year-old village.
We loved welcoming Stepping Stones of Mitchell out to The Mitchell Site!
It was a pleasure sharing the history, archaeology, and cultural legacy of this place with your group. Thank you for spending time with us, asking great questions, and helping keep curiosity and learning at the center of our community. We hope to see you again soon!
Sinte Gleska University Students Visit the Mitchell Sit
Students from Sinte Gleska University visited the Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum to explore Plains Village archaeology and regional Indigenous history.
We enjoyed having students from the Sinte Gleska University of the Rosebud Tribe! They were engaged, curious, and asked excellent questions.
SDSU President Barry Dunn Visits the Mitchell Site
Dr. Barry Dunn, President of South Dakota State University, visited the Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum to explore ongoing archaeology and regional history.
We were incredibly grateful and honored to give a grand tour to Barry Dunn, SDSU president, and his team! Dr. Dunn is an enrolled member of the Sicagnu Lakota Tribe and is believed to be the first tribal member to serve as a president of an 1862 land-grant University. We look forward to future collaboration between our two institutions.
Flandreau Indian School Tour
A large group of students from Flandreau Indian School visited the Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum to explore a 1,000-year-old Plains Village through immersive, on-site archaeological interpretation and guided educational programming.
We had a big group (150!) of students from Flandreau Indian School stop in last week for a tour and to learn more about the people and culture of the Mitchell Site. Engaging indigenous youth is a core goal of The Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum, and we are grateful for the growing number of indigenous school programs coming to tour our site!
A Thank You Dinner
in my first year here as Executive Director of the Mitchell Site, I have been overwhelmed with the support, time, money, and effort given by so many in our community and beyond to make us successful. Whether it’s volunteering to work the grounds or the admission desk, giving dollars to support our free school tour program, or helping us craft our burgeoning position as one of the foremost archaeological and educational centers in the Great Plains, I wanted to express my thanks for the help given to achieve our many goals. I made gumbo and cornbread, and our Board President Steve Kinsella made bison and elk chili—both of which were served on top of rice. It has been an honor to serve the Mitchell Site and the community of Mitchell thus far, and I look forward to this being a yearly tradition for our ever growing list of supporters.
Mitchell Middle School
With the new school year underway, the Mitchell Site has received numerous bookings for school tours this fall—and one of the first was Mrs. Mebius’ Social Studies class from Mitchell Middle School. They were an exceptionally well behaved and curious class, and we had a great time showing them our amazing site & museum!
DWU Future Educators Tour
Education majors from Dakota Weslayan University came for a tour of the Mitchell Site; along with our discussions of the site itself, we used the tour as an opportunity to discuss pedagogy as it pertains to hands-on educational experiences like ours. We hope to see them leading their own classrooms soon, bringing them on (free) field trips to the Mitchell Site!
Mitchell High School Class of ‘75
The Mitchell Prehistoric Archaeological Site was honored to host a tour for the Mitchell High School Class of ‘75. Most remembered it as simply a field for walking around by the lake, and were amazed at the way it has transformed into one of the foremost archaeological sites in the Great Plains. We had a blast, and were so grateful that they chose us as the place to kick off their fun and nostalgic weekend!
Brad Tennant speaks on the Arikara
On August 21, Dr. Brad Tennant—a South Dakotan historian and educator—spoke at the Village about the history and culture of the Arikara (Sahnish), their role in intertribal trade, the impact of disease, their encounter with Lewis and Clark, and their conflicts with the U.S. government from 1807 to the 1820s. The Arikara are the descendants of the Coalescent cultural tradition, of which the Mitchell Site is a forbearer of. We are so grateful to Dr. Tennant for coming and giving such a fascinating and engaging talk!
Thank you to the Practical Church Leadership Program at DWU!
A great tour was had with the Practical Church Leadership Program from Dakota Wesleyan University; they are a collective of ministry professionals from across the U.S. who convene on campus as part of their year-long administrative studies program. We loved interacting and engaging with them, and are so proud of the great things happening at our local academic institutions!
Children’s Day at the Village!
Children’s Day at the Village!
Our Children’s Day here at the Village was a huge hit for the hundreds of visitors who stopped in. Along with face and gourd painting, artifact washing, corn husk doll making, and atlatl throwing, visitors were able to visit with two of our amazing board members—Peter Lengkeek and Belinda Joe—to learn traditional indigenous stories and games. We are so grateful to them for teaching such valuable knowledge, and thankful to everyone who came out to see us!
Summer Reading Program at the Mitchell Public Library
The Mitchell Public Library invited Executive Director Christian New to come give a presentation for their Summer Reading program; the theme of the program is “Color Our World,” looking at art in a variety of ways and mediums. Christian gave a presentation on the way art permeates all of culture, and specifically how the pottery found at the Mitchell site is both function and style before having the attendees making their own ceramic goods. It was a great time, and the Mitchell Site appreciates the great work the library does to keep the youth educated and involved!
Our Gardens are in Bloom!
With recent rains, Audrey’s Garden is looking as beautiful as ever!
With the recent influx of rain, we have seen an explosion of life in Audrey’s Garden. From Wood Lilly to Wild Geranium to Meadow Garlic to Milkweed, our plants have bloomed beautifully. With that comes pollinators, birds, bunnies, and more - all of which help us in our goal to foster an active, healthy, native ecosystem here at the Mitchell Site.
Archaeology Day at the Village a Success!
Archaeology Day at the Mitchell Site was a huge success!
More than 200 visitors participated in Archaeology Day 2025 at the Village on June 14th. Attendees got the opportunity to watch stone tools being made, visit with archaeologists, engage in atlatl throwing, and more. Along with the numerous tourists that were part of the crowd, we had great community engagement-with lots of Mitchellites coming to support us and have a great time!
Listen to Dr. Hannus Discuss the Mitchell Site
Dr. Hannus discussed the Mitchell Site on a recent podcast episode of SDPB.
South Dakota Public Broadcasting has recently released a podcast episode featuring the Mitchell Site’s head archaeologist, Dr. Adrien Hannus. In it, he discusses the achievements of the site’s inhabitants, the value of understanding these achievements, and other work he has participated in around South Dakota to further this goal. Listen here: https://www.sdpb.org/podcast/history-605/2024-03-25/history-605-s-4-ep-2-archeology-at-the-indian-village-near-mitchell
New Exhibit Installed in Archeodome
New native plant exhibit installed in the Archeodome!
What a way to start off our blog!
Jerry Gerry, who was part of the founding committee establishing our site in 1978 and has served as a board member since, is also a master woodworker. Over the past few months, he has constructed a beautiful display case with the assistance and input of Dr. Adrien Hannus, our site’s lead archaeologist. It shows off native plants and their multifaceted uses by the indigenous people of the past and present - including those at our site 1,000 years ago.