//
Photo: MatthewUND, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lake Sakakawea State Park is a public recreation area occupying 739 acres (299 ha) on the southern shore of Lake Sakakawea in Mercer County, North Dakota, United States. The state park is located adjacent to the Garrison Dam, one mile (1.6 km) north of Pick City.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Established as a National Park Service (NPS) site in 1974. This is the only NPS site that preserves and protects the Northern Plains Indian Heritage. The Native Americans have occupied this area for over 11,000 years. There are the remains of three Hidatsa village sites within the park boundaries. The Big Hidatsa site has 110 depressions, the Sakakawea (Awatixa) site has 60 depressions and the Lower Hidatsa site has 40 depressions. This was once a thriving civilization situated along the Knife River. Sakakawea lived at the Awatixa site when she met Lewis and Clark at Fort Mandan. A state of the art museum dedicated to preserving the culture of the Hidatsa, Mandan and Arikara tribes is located at the visitor center. A 15-minute video about village life can be viewed in the visitor center theater. A full-scale reconstructions of a Hidatsa earthlodge features authentic furnishings. Programs in the earthlodge are conducted during the summer months.