Double Ditch Indian Village

Walk among the ruins of the earth lodges at the Double Ditch Indian Village and learn about the Mandan tribe. The Mandan Indians, who were farmers and hunters, used earth and timber to build dome-shaped homes in this large village near present day Bismarck, North Dakota, overlooking the Missouri River. Wooden frameworks were covered with layers of willow branches, grass and earth, forming lodges that housed 10 to 20 people. Double Ditch and neighboring Mandan villages were abandoned when the tribe was decimated by a smallpox epidemic in the 1700s, and surviving members headed upriver and relocated. Circular depressions in the earth mark the spots where lodges once stood. The North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department operates a recreational area nearby with walking trails and scenic views of the river.