The Fifth Mound

Many Native American Groups built burial mounds. Where a loved ones remains would be placed in the ground and earth would be piled on top of them leaving a mound. 

There are 5 burial mounds that remain in Sherman Park in Sioux Falls South Dakota. Four of the burial mounds are all in a row with the 5th mound by itself several yards away. These mounds have been here for over a thousand years. There are other remaining Native American burial mounds in our area, however, countless burial mounds have been lost.  

T.H. Lewis would sketch these mounds on a survey map in 1884, however, in the 1940s the 5th mound would be desecrated by amateurs that excavated the site.  

However if you go to the park today the mound has been rebuilt. So what happened?  In 2001 a 15-year-old, Jacob Mentele, called this part of his Eagle Scout project an act of reconciliation. Along with scout troop 152, the Augustana Archeology Lab and other volunteers the fifth mound was rebuilt. This project was funded by the Minnehaha County Historical Society. Jacob would become an Eagle Scout and would end up helping present the historical marker for The Fifth Mound at its dedication ceremony.  

When you go to Sherman Park today you will notice the burial mounds are fenced off and there is even a sign noting this is a burial site, but it is more than that it is a sacred site, and the fence is to help us understand how we should be respectful of that sacred site.