Visit

Tours

A guide will help you explore the ancient secrets while walking in the footsteps of a people who lived 1,000+ years ago. The Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village is your opportunity to travel back to the time of the ancestors of the Mandan, the tribe that Lewis and Clark encountered in the winter of 1804. Investigate the shelter construction, innovative hunting tools and agricultural techniques of these resourceful people. Your tour will include an introductory movie in our theater, museum tour where you can walk through an earth lodge and view the ongoing excavation of the village at the Thomsen Center Archeodome. There are special hands-on activities for children. Kids 12 and under, dig for a free arrowhead! You won’t want to miss our Gift Shop Antiquary where Native and regional arts and crafts are featured. Special events like live digs, storytellers, Archeology Days, Native American Lore & Games and more are scheduled throughout the summer and fall. Our picturesque grounds located on the shores of Lake Mitchell, are perfect for picnics, birdwatching, lakefront bicycling and walks!

Audrey’s “Teaching” Garden

Audrey’s Garden is our newest exhibit and out first “living exhibit”. The inspiration for our Garden was Audrey Kinsella, a longtime board member, our first executive director, and a tireless volunteer until her passing in 2013 at the age of 89. One of Audrey’s wishes was to have a teaching garden showcasing the native plants that our Villagers would have used for foods, medicines, dyes and ceremonies. The garden was designed by landscape architect John Helsper, Jr. and installed in 2015 by James Valley Nursery. Funds raised for Audrey’s Garden came from the Kinsella family and the many friends of Audrey Kinsella. The gardens consist of 36 different species, such as Echinacea, Rosa spp., Prunus sp., Gentiana sp., Monarda, Rudbeckia and many more. The flowers are attracting many different insects, such as the Eastern Swallowtail on the Echinacea in the photo. Prairie Smoke (Geum Triforum) begins the parade of flowers in late March and the Rudbeckia sp. and Echinacea sp. end the floral show in the late fall. Information plaques have been installed in the gardens so visitors may identify each plant and its uses. A flyer is available in the museum for more information. There are two stone benches placed near the gardens for observing the flower display and its winged visitors. Photo opportunities are abundant in our gardens. Please stop and “smell the roses” when you visit the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village!

Activities For Children

We have exhibits in the Thomsen Center Archeodome which are hands-on and learning exhibits for children. For example, children can learn how archeologists sort artifacts, separating bone, stone and ceramic artifacts. Kids can enjoy a scavenger hunt. Our "Kids Dig" is, by far, the most popular of the children’s activities. There, children can excavate and search for plastic arrowheads, which they can turn in at the gift shop for a real arrowhead! Children of all ages (that includes you, Dad!) can learn to throw a spear using an ancient tool called an ATLATL. We say that this activity tells who is the hunter and who is the gatherer! Our Annual Lakota Games on Ice, where we teach the games played during the long, cold winter months by the ancestors of the Lakota people is held in January. During the summer months, special activities are held for children during our annual Archeology Awareness Days and Native American Lore & Games. We have activities/hand-outs for remote learning.

We have a Scout Merit Badge Program. Join us for a "Night at the Museum" to earn your Scout Merit Badge in Archaeology. Arrive at the Prehistoric Indian Village in the early evening for instruction, food, fun and a movie! Pack your sleeping bag, spend the night in the museum and then wake up to breakfast and more Archaeology instruction. By the end of the morning, you will have earned your badge! Merit Badge fees are $25 per scout, $15 per adult chaperone. The fee includes supper (pizza, soft drink) and breakfast (cereal, juice). You MUST make reservations for this program.  OUR SCOUT MERIT BADGE PROGRAM HAS BEEN PAUSED, CHECK WITH US FOR MORE INFORMATION

Educational Tours

Our education programs are among the most important things we do here at the Village. In addition to all the hands-on activities for kids, we give tours to over 1,500 students each year as part of their school curriculum. We have packets containing information and age-appropriate activities that we give to teachers who bring their students for field trips. Homeschoolers and teachers can also request a packet by calling us at 605-996-5473 or by emailing us at info@mitchellindianvillage.org.

Groups/Meetings/Bus Tours

We will set up tours for 10 or more people by appointment. You can bring your picnic lunches and sit out by the lake in the shade of towering cottonwood, elm and ash trees, too!  Are you looking for that unique site for a special event? We have it! Our bluff overlooking Lake Mitchell is perfect for weddings, anniversaries, reunions, business events, and much more! There is a fire pit, brick grill, room for a live band and dance floor, and plenty of room for picnic tables. Indoor spaces at the Archeodome or Technology Center may also be available. We welcome bus tours - there's plenty of room in our parking lot for buses, motorhomes and RVs. We offer special pricing for group and bus tours. Call us at 605-996-5473.  

Events

Special events like live digs, storytellers, Archeology Days, Native American Lore & Games, Paleo Games and more are scheduled throughout the summer and fall. Pop-up events occur throughout the season. Special activities are held for children during Archeology Awareness Days and Native American Lore & Games. Our Annual Lakota Games on Ice are held in January, where we teach the games played during the long, cold winter months by the ancestors of the Lakota people. 

Archeology Awareness Days is our biggest event of each year. Archeologists, primitive technologists and Native American cultural presenters come from far and wide to share their skills and passion for archeology and Native America. Visitors can watch a flintknapper fashion a projectile point from an ordinary piece of flint or jasper; a potter will show visitors how to make a small piece of pottery in the manner done by our Villagers 1,000 years ago - visitors can take their pottery item home! Visitors get atlatl lessons, learn how to play the games the ancestors of today's Native Americans played, watch cultural presentations on dancing, drumming or storytelling. There is so much to see and do. Archeologists from around the Northern Plains and from the University of Exeter have additional exhibits, and our archeology team continues to excavate throughout the event!  This event takes place each summer during July.