The Stronghold
Indian Country
The Stronghold is a fascinating natural environment steeped in Lakota history. Located on the Northern edge of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the South Unit of Badlands National Park, the Stronghold became a refuge for those Lakota who fled Standing Rock after Sitting Bull's arrest and sudden death at his cabin on the Grand River on December 15, 1890 and also survivors of the Wounded Knee massacre who chose to join them just two weeks later in a defiant stand against the U.S. government and Army.
The Stronghold was ideally suited for an extended defensive stand by the resistant band of Lakotas (estimated at about 3500 people) who settled in for the long haul and pushed back against any aggressive military action by the Army. It was here that they performed some of the last known Ghost Dances which were erroneously blamed as a precursor to war by the presiding Indian Agents of Standing Rock and Pine Ridge.
The first photo is taken from the edge of Cuny Table looking out at The Stronghold from about four miles away. The Stronghold itself is the flat plateau in the distance. The second photo is on the northern tip of The Stronghold where I saw two mountain goats on the precipitous cliffsides.