West River (South Dakota)
Encyclopedia
West River is the portion of the state of South Dakota
located west of the Missouri River
with well over one-half of the land area and between one-quarter and one-third of the population of the state. Usually pronounced "Wes-triver" by locals, it contrasts with "East River
."
The contrast between the two regions is striking. While East River is predominantly a corn
- and wheat
-growing region, with large numbers of pig
s and poultry
operations, West River is predominantly ranching with some dryland farming
. Population has decreased as family farms declined due to the harsh conditions and industrialization of agriculture. Other than aggregates, all mining
in South Dakota (including gold
and other precious metal
s, industrial minerals
, iron ore, and coal
) is located in West River, which includes the Black Hills
. Both areas were occupied for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples
. The historical Great Plains
tribes, especially the Lakota or Sioux groups, held most of the territory west of the river.
While European-American settlement of East River was largely by homesteaders moving west from Iowa
and Minnesota
, or immigrants arriving by train from eastern US seaports, West River was settled first by gold-seekers and miners; many from older gold rush
locations to the west, such as Montana
and Colorado
, followed by ranchers from Texas
, Kansas
, and Colorado. As a result, while East River has a high Scandinavia
n and German-descended population and a culture similar that of Minnesota, West River has a more general European-American population and a culture similar to the Mountain states
.
Nearly 9% of South Dakota's population is Native American
and Indian Reservation
s are located in both sides of the state. More than 20% of the population of West River is of Native American descent; this includes primarily Lakota residents of the five West River reservations (once united as the Great Sioux Reservation
), as well as populations in urban centers such as Rapid City
. In the 1990s, Bennett County's population became majority Native American. In the 2002 elections, Oglala Lakota
candidates won positions as county sheriff, one of the county commissioners, and a seat on the county school board.
West River has a larger military
influence on the economy, with both Ellsworth Air Force Base
and most installations of the South Dakota Army National Guard
there; only the South Dakota Air National Guard is located in East River (at Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls
). West River is politically more conservative
and Republican than East River, but the state Republican Party is normally dominated by East River interests. Walter Dale Miller
, the only West River governor
in the state's recent history, came to office in 1993 due to the death of Governor George S. Mickelson
. Given the military installations, subsidies for farming and ranching, and Indian reservations, West River residents share a "mutual economic dependency upon the federal government."
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
located west of the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
with well over one-half of the land area and between one-quarter and one-third of the population of the state. Usually pronounced "Wes-triver" by locals, it contrasts with "East River
East River (South Dakota)
The East River portion of South Dakota refers to the section of the state lying east of the Missouri River. Geographical distinctions between the eastern and western sections of the state were reinforced by distinct patterns of European settlement and Native American resettlement during the 19th...
."
The contrast between the two regions is striking. While East River is predominantly a corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
- and wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
-growing region, with large numbers of pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s and poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
operations, West River is predominantly ranching with some dryland farming
Dryland farming
Dryland farming is an agricultural technique for non-irrigated cultivation of drylands.-Locations:Dryland farming is used in the Great Plains, the Palouse plateau of Eastern Washington, and other arid regions of North America, the Middle East and in other grain growing regions such as the steppes...
. Population has decreased as family farms declined due to the harsh conditions and industrialization of agriculture. Other than aggregates, all mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
in South Dakota (including gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and other precious metal
Precious metal
A precious metal is a rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical element of high economic value.Chemically, the precious metals are less reactive than most elements, have high lustre, are softer or more ductile, and have higher melting points than other metals...
s, industrial minerals
Industrial minerals
Industrial minerals are geological materials which are mined for their commercial value, which are not fuel and are not sources of metals ....
, iron ore, and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
) is located in West River, which includes the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
. Both areas were occupied for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
. The historical Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
tribes, especially the Lakota or Sioux groups, held most of the territory west of the river.
While European-American settlement of East River was largely by homesteaders moving west from Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, or immigrants arriving by train from eastern US seaports, West River was settled first by gold-seekers and miners; many from older gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
locations to the west, such as Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, followed by ranchers from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, and Colorado. As a result, while East River has a high Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n and German-descended population and a culture similar that of Minnesota, West River has a more general European-American population and a culture similar to the Mountain states
Mountain States
thumb|300px|Regional definitions vary from source to source. The states shown in dark red are always included, while the striped states are usually considered part of the same region called the Mountain States....
.
Nearly 9% of South Dakota's population is Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and Indian Reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
s are located in both sides of the state. More than 20% of the population of West River is of Native American descent; this includes primarily Lakota residents of the five West River reservations (once united as the Great Sioux Reservation
Great Sioux reservation
The Great Sioux Reservation was established in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, and includes all of modern western South Dakota and modern Boyd County, Nebraska...
), as well as populations in urban centers such as Rapid City
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
. In the 1990s, Bennett County's population became majority Native American. In the 2002 elections, Oglala Lakota
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
candidates won positions as county sheriff, one of the county commissioners, and a seat on the county school board.
West River has a larger military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
influence on the economy, with both Ellsworth Air Force Base
Ellsworth Air Force Base
Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota....
and most installations of the South Dakota Army National Guard
South Dakota Army National Guard
South Dakota Army National Guard maintains and operates 32 armories, and in 31 different communities. Major components of the SDARNG include field artillery, engineer, transportation, aviation, maintenance and medical units.- History :...
there; only the South Dakota Air National Guard is located in East River (at Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
). West River is politically more conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
and Republican than East River, but the state Republican Party is normally dominated by East River interests. Walter Dale Miller
Walter Dale Miller
Walter Dale "Walt" Miller is an American politician with the Republican Party. He served as 29th Governor of South Dakota from 1993 to 1995, having succeeded to office upon the death of George S...
, the only West River governor
Governor of South Dakota
The Governor of South Dakota is the head of the executive branch of the government of South Dakota. They are elected to a four year term on even years when there is no Presidential election. The current governor is Dennis Daugaard, a Republican elected in 2010....
in the state's recent history, came to office in 1993 due to the death of Governor George S. Mickelson
George S. Mickelson
George Speaker Mickelson was an American politician from the U.S. state of South Dakota. Mickelson, a Republican, served as the 28th Governor of South Dakota from January 6, 1987 until his death in a plane crash in 1993. His father, George T. Mickelson, was also a governor of South Dakota,...
. Given the military installations, subsidies for farming and ranching, and Indian reservations, West River residents share a "mutual economic dependency upon the federal government."