The Dakotas, also known as simply Dakota, is a collective term for the U.S. states of

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, economy, and

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

of the two states.

Etymology

The name "Dakota" refers to the Dakota people.

History

The territory now known as the Dakotas includes a large portion of the ancestral land of

Native American tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, Indigenous tribe, or Tribal nation may be any current or historical Tribe (Native American)#Other uses, tribe, band, or nation of Native Americans in ...

s, in particular various tribes of Sioux such as the Dakota people, also known as the Santee Sioux. The United States government stakes its claim to the land through the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

and

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...

acquisition. The region historically involved a complex series of conflicts between the U.S. government and Native American tribes (and among themselves). The region was part of the

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

territories until 1861. Dakota Territory initially included parts of present day Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming. The fall of 1861 resulted in a poor harvest and was followed by a harsh winter, leading to extreme hardship for the Dakota in the region. Desperate for food and money, they were denied loans by local traders. A series of raids in the spring of 1862 ultimately resulted in

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

between the U.S. government and the Dakota people. The U.S. won the war, the aftermath which included a mass hanging of 38 people on December 26, 1862, the largest mass execution in U.S. history. The remaining Santee Dakota people were exiled by the U.S. government to the Dakota Territory. The end of the war did not solve the conflicts between Native Americans and the Americans. Fighting would continue, for example along the Bozeman Trail, until the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868. The treaty established the Great Sioux Reservation and "designated the Black Hills as 'unceded Indian Territory' for the exclusive use of native peoples." The subsequent discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 by George Armstrong Custer's

Black Hills Expedition The Black Hills Expedition was a United States Army expedition in 1874 led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer that set out on July 2, 1874, from Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory, which is south of modern day Mandan, North Dakota, w ...

, would cause a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

and the U.S. to violate the treaty. The Indian Appropriations Act of 1876 went into effect on August 15, 1876. This was referred to as "sell or starve" by the Native Americans and led to the

Great Sioux War of 1876 The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota people, Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of t ...

. The conflict between the Sioux and miners and the U.S. forces backing them would culminate in the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...

, also known as "Custer's Last Stand", the most significant battle of the war. Despite being a Sioux victory, Battle of the Little Bighorn preceded the Agreement of 1877 which took away the Black Hills and forced Native Americans onto reservations (see Black Hills land claim) and left the Sioux with little means to address their grievances. Before he left office, President Cleveland signed a bill on February 22, 1889, splitting the Dakota Territory along the modern borders. This bill was ratified by Congress, and President Harrison signed the paper work to create the US states of North Dakota and South Dakota on November 2, 1889, deliberately signing such that it was unknown which was officially created first. The debate over the land within the Dakotas, specifically the Black Hills, is unsettled. The Sioux in 1920 began a legal battle over their ancestral lands within the US system of justice. Sixty years later, the US Supreme Court upheld in 1980's '' United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians'' case that tribal land was illegally taken from the Sioux and ruled they deserved financial compensation. The Sioux Nation has refused the offer because the land was "never for sale".

Geography

The Dakotas have a total area of 147,878 square miles (383,177 square kilometers), which would rank 4th among U.S. states, right before

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. The Dakotas are within the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, with the western portion in the High Plains. The PBS miniseries ''New Perspectives on the West'' noted historically important areas within the Dakotas, including the Black Hills, the town of Deadwood, Fort Buford,

Standing Rock Sioux Reservation The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota controls the Standing Rock Reservation (), which straddles the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic " Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lak ...

and Wounded Knee."New perspectives on the West: The Dakotas"
PBS. Retrieved April 20, 2008. The Upper

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

and the Upper Missouri River Valley are important geological features in the area, as well. Both of the Dakotas have

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, with warm to hot summers and cold to even subarctic temperatures in winter. Due to the difference in circle of latitude, temperatures differ by degrees between the southern and northern areas, even inside the respective states.

Demographics

The two states combined have a population of 1,670,324, slightly less than

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, ranking at 39th place. The two states also have a population density of 9.8 per sq. mi (3.8 per km²). The area is mostly inhabited by people of Northern European origin. 44.9% of the population are of German ancestry, 21.8% of Norwegian, and 9.6% are of Irish heritage.

Main cities

The following are the top twenty-two most populous cities in The Dakotas. Pierre, South Dakota, and Bismarck, North Dakota, are the respective state capitals. #

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

: 202,078 #

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

: 131,444 # Rapid City, South Dakota: 78,824 # Bismarck, North Dakota: 74,445 #

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

: 58,692 # Minot, North Dakota: 47,759 # West Fargo, North Dakota: 39,985 # Aberdeen, South Dakota: 28,210 # Williston, North Dakota: 27,029 # Dickinson, North Dakota: 25,679 # Mandan, North Dakota: 24,206 #

Brookings, South Dakota Brookings is a city in and the county seat of Brookings County, South Dakota, Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 23,377 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in South Dakota, fo ...

: 23,993 # Watertown, South Dakota: 23,019 #

Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown is a city in and the county seat of Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, ninth most populous city in North ...

: 15,849 #

Mitchell, South Dakota Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census making it the List of cities in South Dakota, sixth most populous city in South Dako ...

: 15,659 #

Yankton, South Dakota Yankton is a city in and the county seat of Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. It became a city in 1889. The population was 15,411 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in South Dakota, 7th most po ...

: 15,411 # Huron, South Dakota: 14,263 # Pierre, South Dakota: 14,091 # Spearfish, South Dakota: 12,193 # Box Elder, South Dakota: 11,746 # Vermillion, South Dakota: 11,695 # Brandon, South Dakota: 11,048

References

External links

Historic map
of the Dakotas {{DEFAULTSORT:Dakotas, The Midwestern United States Regions of the United States Geography of North Dakota Geography of South Dakota