Sign Text for Nebraska Landmark #341:
On July 30 the explorers arrived at the bluff where Fort Atkinson would be built less than two decades later. Clark wrote, “The Situation of this place which we Call Council Bluff which is handsom ellevated a Spot well Calculated… for a fort to Command the Countrey and river the low bottom above high water & well Situated under the Command of the Hill for Houses to trade with the Natives.”
Four days later the Oto Indians, who lived in a village along the Platte River, came to the Lewis and Clark camp for a council. Captain Clark “mad up a Small preasent for those people in perpotion to their Consiqunce also a package with a meadile to accompany a Speech for the Grand Chief after Brackfast we collected those Indians under an orning of our Main Sail… Delivered a long Speech to them expressive of our journey and the wirkes of our Government, some advice to them and Directions how They were to Conduct themselves.”
More about the Lewis and Clark Camp Site: July 30 – Aug 2, 1804:
What Mr. Clark didn’t realize in his rambling journal was that this was the first formal meeting between a representative of the US Government and a tribe west of the Mississippi! The Siouan-speaking Otoe had been ravaged by smallpox, and so they joined with the neighboring Missouria, all of whom were out hunting with the Corps of Discovery passed through.
The group that caught up with the Corps camp were lower-level chiefs, but the leaders of the Otoe and Missouria, Little Thief and Big Horse respectively, came to see them upriver. They were charged with making peace with other tribes upriver to get better trade with the United States, compared to the French and Spanish! Little Thief met with Thomas Jefferson the next year, and though it was a pleasant meeting, the Missouria and Otoe were eventually removed from their native lands and sent to Oklahoma!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Become a member of the Nebraska Historical Marker Program!
- Donate to the Fort Atkinson Foundation!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
201 S 7th St
Fort Calhoun, NE 68023
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
The park is open Sunday through Friday from 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM!
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