More than 300 years ago, a tract of land straddling the South Dakota and Iowa border was home to a bustling trade community of the Oneota people. Now that site is an area called Blood Run.

Today, however, the site remains largely empty.

"You get this feeling that you are out there and civilization hasn't quite caught up with you yet," anthropology professor Adrien Hannus said.

But the signs of civilization are quickly encroaching. Of the 1,200 acres of historical significance in South Dakota, only 200 are owned by the state, leaving the rest susceptible to development.

Private landowner Buzz Nelson has offered to sell his 300 acres of Blood Run to the state, allowing it to be developed as a visitor's center and nature area.

This option, however, runs out in November and, as the line of quarter million dollar homes that have been slowly making their way along the Big Sioux River creeps closer to this National Landmark Site, calls for preservation have been getting louder.

"We're eating up our landscapes," Hannus said. "We're either going to get it and develop it or we won't have any other options."

A Historical Treasure

On a rainy night in 1984, a man working with a gravel company in Iowa knocked on the door of the Augustana archeology lab.

He claimed to have found human remains in a site he was digging, a site that was also the historic location of Blood Run.

"I called the state archeologist of Iowa and asked him, ‘Did you know someone is graveling part of Blood Run?,'" Hannus said.

Ten years later, Hannus had a similar encounter while working on site outside of Sturgis, S.D. A man who lived in a cabin nearby was telling Hannus the plans for his new golf course in southeastern South Dakota, again to be built on the Blood Run site.

"The message is, we're not doing a very good job protecting it," Hannus said. "You would think a site that has national register status would have all of these protections, but it doesn't come with any money to it."

Hannus has currently been hired as an archeological expert on three of the four groups bidding to develop the Buzz Nelson site.

He hopes to carry out a full archeological examination of the site before it is developed, something that has never been done in Blood Run's history.

"We all talk like we know a lot about Blood Run, but the truth is, no one has ever done a real archeological excavation of the site," Hannus said.

His other hopes for the site include an interpretive center that will allow the history of Blood Run to be told in ways the land itself can't.

"People always ask me ‘What do you see?'" Hannus said. "Well you don't see anything. It's where a village was. The trick is to catch people's imaginations."

A Unique Opportunity

While driving the Lincoln County backroads in search of the perfect photo backdrop for a catalog last summer, graphic designer Eric Raasch came across a historic marker in what he describes as a "seemingly inconspicuous location."

"The text on the marker opened my eyes to the remarkable and rich history of the site, which appeared to me as too nondescript to have been such a thriving population center," Raasch said.

Inspired by the site, Raasch felt compelled to learn more about it and become more involved.

Raasch, who is the president of the Sioux Falls graphic design and marketing firm Mind Flame Design, decided to take the cause to the web. He created a logo and Facebook page for the preservation of the site.

"I wanted to make it easier for those sympathetic to the cause to show their support, and for those interested to learn more," Raasch said.

Though the site has only been up for a few weeks, it has already gathered interest from the community.

"In true grassroots fashion, it is gradually building momentum from day to day," Raasch said.

According to Raasch, the preservation of the Blood Run will provide a unique opportunity for South Dakota, as well as the rest of the world, to learn about Native American culture on the plains.

"People around the world are fascinated by all things Native American, particularly the art and culture of the High Plains tribes," Raasch said. "And here it is, right in our own backyard, waiting for us to embrace, preserve and celebrate it. And why wouldn't we? To me, it's part opportunity, part responsibility."

Cultural Preservation

Since September, Prairie Star Gallery owner Linda Boyd has been hosting gallery talks for those interested in the preservation of Blood Run.

"Benefits for the future would be here for all of us," Boyd said. "Blood Run with its cupped boulders and burial mounds is a place to be honored and treasured for eons to come."

According to Boyd, the purchase of the Buzz Nelson property will provide a protected area for sacred sites and ceremonies as well as a natural area that will provide educational and recreational opportunities.

"The potential of Blood Run – what was, is and can be – is huge," Boyd said.

 The last talking circle on April 1 was attended by Yankton artist Jerry Fogg who unveiled two pieces of art about the history of Blood Run.

As a member of the Yanktoni Sioux Tribe of the Nakota Nation, Fogg believes the Blood Run holds a wealth of cultural history.

In an editorial from the April 13 Argus LeaderFogg wrote that "Blood Run holds many secrets yet to be discovered and preserved. It holds the secrets we cannot afford to forfeit."

Fogg's pieces address this historical importance. One shows maps from 1856 and 1886 and a land title transfer sheet to show how the railroad purchase for Blood Run was made.

The second is a three-piece panel that depicts Blood Run as a peaceful place and shows the passages of the moons through the eons. The center panel features a white buffalo, symbolizing peace for the future.

"Basically, I was trying to explain the history of Blood Run and why it should be preserved in its wildness," Fogg said.

Another talking circle will be held from 6-8 p.m. tonight at the Prairie Star Gallery on S. Phillips Ave. The event is open to the public.

"It's a subject very few people have any knowledge about," Fogg said. "People worry about gas prices and taxes, things that hit the pocket book, but they forget that places like Blood Run won't be here forever."