Native American Scenic Byway

A small ethnography class gathers on the North Dakota prairie to learn more about the area.

The river creates a green trail of trees.

Thousands of friendly sunflowers grow on the side of the road throughout the state of South Dakota.

On the east side of Fort Yates, overlooking the Oahe River, is the Standing Rock Monument. According to legend, the hunched-over rock is really the stubborn wife of a Dakota man.

These shaggy buffalo graze in the Lakota Tribal Park, an immense section of grasslands on the eastern side of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.

The rolling green plains and billowing white clouds that typify the great plains spread before the camera in this view from Lakota Tribal Park.

The Foundation for the Preservation of Mustangs and Burros gifted over 120 wild horses to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Here, one of these wild horses is shown in its natural habitat.

These visitors to Fort Manuel take advantage of the high point to look out over the plains.

Byway visitors rest on these benches in the center of restored Fort Manuel Lisa. The outbuildings and living quarters were reconstructed to match historical descriptions.

The Stockade is the last remaining building of Fort Yates, the largest military outpost along the Missouri River.

The Standing Rock Native American Scenic Byway takes you past two places where one of the greatest leaders in American history is said to be buried. Sitting Bull died along the Grand River in western Standing Rock December 15, 1890 and was subsequently buried at Fort Yates, North Dakota. This site is marked and located on the drive into Fort Yates, within one mile of the Standing Rock Native American Scenic Byway. Later, Sitting Bull's remains were said to have been removed to a site across from Mobridge, South Dakota marked by a stone monument carved by famed sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, located south of Grand River Casino, three miles off the byway.

A large part of Native American Heritage, this buffalo herd stretches in a near unbroken line between grass and sky. Buffalo have a great historical significance for the Lakota/Dakota people. Before the incursion of European settlers, bison provided the people with food, clothing and shelter. After many years of absence, the bison are once again on Standing Rock.

Several watercrafts line the blue waters of Lake Oahe, one of the largest reservoirs on the Missouri River.

These visitors pause for a lecture on the Tatanka Ohitika tour.

A golden-brown bird of prey soars over the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation

A small group of bison make their way across the flowing green prairie grass of the North Dakota plains.

Several beaver pelts line the table of the Fort Manuel Store, with other period trapping equipment decorating the wall behind.

A small bird sits atop the Standing Rock Monument overlooking beautiful Lake Oahe on the Missouri River.

Travelers will follow the Lewis and Clark Trail along the entire Standing Rock Native American Scenic Byway. A North Dakota State Historical marker can be seen near The Standing Rock Monument in Fort Yates, North Dakota.

The morning mists obscure the shores of the Standing Rock Reservation along Four Mile Creek

This photo shows the wide open views of the Native American Scenic Byway as it passes through the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.