"Sixty miles north of Bismarck, North Dakota, the Missouri River cuts wide, looping bends through the plains. Near the place where the Knife River joins its flow, the Hidatsa and Mandan peoples established villages, moving as circumstances demanded from one to the next. This is the story of those Knife River Indian villages, their people, and the roles they played in the development of the North American continent. It is a story of cultural growth and a tale of tragedy." -from the Introduction