Storybook Land, Aberdeen 1887 | EXPERIENCE IT Laura Ingalls Wilder’s childhood home in De Smet is built. Residents of the American West honor their pioneer past and keen sense of independence with historic museums, town-wide celebrations, rodeos, wagon trains and, in the case of a wild and woolly town known as Deadwood, Main Street shootouts staged by Wild West re-enactors several times a day. World Champion, while the Days of ’76 Museum in Deadwood pays tribute to one of the PRCA’s most successful annual outdoor rodeos ever. In Aberdeen, visit the Dacotah Prairie Museum to see books by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum, who lived in the town during the late 1800s. If you’re ready to ride the rails, climb aboard the 1880 Train at Hill City for an authentic steam-train experience. boots: istockphoto/motimeiri 1948 | EXPERIENCE IT Look the part by picking up authentic Western wear from many locations throughout the state. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski began the Crazy Horse Memorial project. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society main-tains the Little House on the Prairie author’s family homestead near De Smet, stages an annual cele-bration and, like Prairie Village west of Madison, the 1880 Town west of Murdo, and the Prairie Homestead east of Wall, provides visitors with a glimpse into the pioneer past. The Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center in Fort Pierre honors a nine-time Native peoples have inhabited South Dakota for thousands of years. Some of the tribes that have called the area home include the Arikara, Mandan, Crow, Cheyenne and Pawnee. Tribes currently in South Dakota include the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota peoples. completed, it will be the largest work of art on Earth. In addition to the sculpture, the memorial features the spacious Indian Museum of North America , the sculptor’s home and studio, an educational and cultural center, and a restaurant. Crazy Horse sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski also created the Sitting Bull Monument southwest of Mobridge, which overlooks the Missouri River. Nearby stands a monument to Sakakawea , who assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition. Sitting Bull Monument Modern-day visitors can walk in the long-ago footsteps of legendary Sioux such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. This proud Northern Plains heritage is celebrated annually at powwows and other special events, as well as through Sioux beadwork, quillwork, pottery, painting and sculpture. Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills pays tribute to the living heritage of all North American Indians. When 19
South Dakota Vacation Guide SD Vacation Guide 2017: Page 19
