Part of the Louisiana Purchase, the Dakotas became part of
America in 1801. Louis and Clark ventured through these parts on
their famous expedition to the Pacific in 1804. But the area was
already home to numerous North American tribes. LEWIS & CLARK
DID NOT MAKE IT TO SIOUX FALLS.   In fact, the first peoples
likely arrived some 1000 years prior, and by 500 BC had
established a thriving culture, which is apparent today with the
massive burial mounts they left in the region. While little is
known of these prehistoric peoples, they were the likely
ancestors of the later Lakota and Dakota tribes who lived in
what is today the area of Sioux Falls. These tribes came into
contact with the French fur trappers, but it was Louis and
Clark, during their expedition, who noted the waterfalls on the
“Soues River,” giving the area its name.  PaleoIndians arrived
about 12,000 years before present when tracking mammoths and
other giant mammals. People of the Late Woodland Culture arrived
about 2000 years before present. The