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L McKee Photography, L McKee Digital Art Photography
Badlands, South Dakota. Photo: Larry McKee, L McKee Photography Fine Art Photography & Design. PLEASE NOTE: This image comes in sizes 4x6, 6x9, 8x12, 12x18, 16x24, 24x36, 32x48, 40x60. "The Lakota Sioux and other Plains Indians have long considered the the broad expanse of harsh terrain called the Badlands a place of deep spiritual significance. The saw-tooth ridges and parched canyons inspired many generations of Native Americans, especially young men who came on vision quests to pray for a good life enriched with fruitful hunting. A vision quest would typically last four days and nights of fasting and sleep deprivation on a lonely hill. In this life-changing test, a young brave would chant and meditate until an animal spirit came into vision and acted as a protector for the rest of his life. After this spiritual vision quest, the brave would return to his villiage where the elders could interpret the circumstances surrounding his vision. Today, the Stronghold and Sheep Mountain Tables are sacred sites for Lakota men to visit and pray and seek a vision for the future. For about 11,000 years human beings have lived on the Badlands prairie. First paleo-Indians, then Arikara Indians, and later the Oglala Sioux (or Lakota) populated the area. Carved by erosion, this scenic landscape contains sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, spires, and animal fossils that date back 40 million years. The Badlands includes the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States which supports bison, bighorn sheep, deer, and antelope. The Sage Creek Wilderness is the site of the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret, the most endangered land mammal in North America; and the Stronghold Unit is co-managed with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and includes the sites of 1890's Ghost Dances."
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