Big Hidatsa Village
In 1600 CE, the Plains Hidatsa people settled a river bluff area near the Knife River in what is now North Dakota. The population of 820 to 1200 people clustered in 120 earth lodges together to form a village of about 820 to 1,200 people. The earth lodges in the community could hold 20 to 30 people, making each lodge a small community within itself. Big Hidatsa Village had suburbs, the Lower Hidatsa Village (Awatixa Xi’e), and Awatixa.
Hidatsa Village and its suburbs were agricultural trade centers, but are best known for diplomacy. They facilitated trade between traders coming from the Minnesota region to the nations in the west, they were the home of one of the most well-known guides in history. Sakakawea lived in one of the Hidatsa villages prior to her work with the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
