Black Hills

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Lore & Background

The Black Hills have been inhabited by numerous indigenous groups over the centuries. The Ponca, Arikara, and Mandan were among the earliest recorded inhabitants, and were later displaced by the Kiowa, Plains Apache, and Shoshone. Those groups had largely left the area by around 1800 and returned only occasionally for trading or raids on other groups. The groups that initially supplanted them were primarily the Cheyenne and Arapaho, along with smaller numbers of Lakota Sioux. By 1850, the demographic situation had reversed, with bands of Cheyenne and Arapaho living among a Lakota majority. The Lakota call the Black Hills Pahá Sápa and consider the entire region to be sacred ground, referring to the hills as wamakaognaka e'cante, 'the heart of everything that is.' The Cheyenne, Arapaho, and other Native groups of the Northern Plains also recognize particular sites within the Black Hills as having sacred significance. In 1868, the federal US government signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, establishing the Great Sioux Reservation west of the Missouri River, and exempting the Black Hills from all non-indigenous settlement 'forever'; however, when American settlers discovered gold here as a result of George Armstrong Custer's Black Hills Expedition in 1874, a gold rush swept in miners. The US government conquered the Black Hills and forcibly relocated the Lakota, following the Great Sioux War of 1876, to five smaller reservations in western South Dakota, selling off 9 million acres (36,000 km2) of their former land.

In Their Own Story

Although rumors of gold in the Black Hills had circulated for decades, confirmation of the deposits came first in 1874, when Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer of the 7th US Cavalry led an expedition there and discovered gold in French Creek. An official announcement of gold was made by the newspaper reporters accompanying the expedition. The following year, the Newton-Jenney Party conducted the first detailed survey of the Black Hills. The surveyor for the party, Valentine McGillycuddy, became the first European American to ascend to the top of Black Elk Peak. This highest point in the Black Hills is 7,242 feet (2,207 m) above sea level. During the 1875–1878 gold rush thousands of miners went to the Black Hills; in 1880, the area was the most densely populated part of the Dakota Territory. Three large towns developed in the Northern Hills: Deadwood, Central City, and Lead. Around these clustered groups of smaller gold camps, towns, and villages. Hill City and Custer City sprang up in the Southern Hills. Railroads were quickly constructed to the previously remote area. From 1880 onward the gold mines yielded about $4,000,000 annually, and the silver mines about $3,000,000 annually.

Reader's Guide

The Black Hills serve as the geographical and thematic anchor for the entire narrative of Deadwood. They are the reason the town exists; without the gold discovered in these mountains, there would be no rush, no camp, and no struggle for power. In the story, the Hills represent the ultimate temptation. They draw characters from all walks of life—refugees, criminals, soldiers, and dreamers—who converge on Deadwood seeking a new beginning or a final score. The rugged terrain influences the plot by isolating the town, making it difficult for outside law to penetrate effectively. Ultimately, the Black Hills matter because they embody the show's central theme: the cost of progress. The beauty of the landscape is marred by the destruction wrought upon it and its indigenous people. They are a character in their own right, beautiful yet unforgiving, holding secrets that drive the drama forward.

Did You Know?

• Black Elk Peak, which rises to 7,242 feet (2,207 m), is the range's highest summit.
• The name of the range in Lakota is Pahá Sápa.
• The Lakota refer to the hills as wamakaognaka e'cante, 'the heart of everything that is.'
• During the 1875–1878 gold rush thousands of miners went to the Black Hills; in 1880, the area was the most densely populated part of the Dakota Territory.
• From 1880 onward the gold mines yielded about $4,000,000 annually, and the silver mines about $3,000,000 annually.