The site of the 1890 massacre remains one of the most solemn places in Lakota memory. Beneath the postcard scenery runs a human history as deep and layered as the Badlands rock.

The events of December 1890 left hundreds of Lakota men, women and children dead.

What sets it apart

A hilltop cemetery and memorial mark the site on the Pine Ridge Reservation. That detail is easy to overlook, but it helps explain the pull this place has on locals and visitors alike.

The name resurfaced in 1973 during a months-long occupation and standoff.

Why it matters

Taken together, these threads say something about South Dakota itself — a place where the old and the new sit close together. It is a heritage still very much alive in the communities and gatherings of today's South Dakota.