Who Put the Bad in Badlands?
“Let sculptors come to the Badlands. Let painters come. But first of all, let architects come…the aspects of the Dakota Badlands have more spiritual quality to impart to the mind of America than anything else in the country.”
Frank Lloyd Wright
A COVID “silver lining” was my recent trip to Badlands National Park. Without the current travel concerns, I would have been in the Southwest again this summer.
But the safety of driving to Wall, South Dakota opened an entirely new National Park experience for me. And I can’t wait to return.
Why bad?
Why would you name a park “bad” if you’re trying to entice people to visit? Because the name is rich in history. The Lakota people called this area mako sica, which translates to “bad lands” for hundreds of years.
The early French fur trappers called the area les mauvaises terres a traveser which translates to “bad lands to travel across.” It’s quite possible the French name comes from the Lakota name.
But why is travel difficult? When it rains, the wet bentonite clay becomes incredibly slick and sticky, making travel difficult. The up-and-down canyons and buttes also make it hard to navigate. In addition, it’s cold and windy in the winter and hot and dry in the summer. Finally, water sources are usually muddy and unsafe to drink.
These environmental factors and early records of human activity point to seasonal hunting in the Badlands rather than permanent habitation.
Good PR?
Somebody must have had second thoughts about the historic name when the park was first proposed in 1922. The initial suggestion was to name it Wonderland National Park.
I’d be fine with that proposed name. Like Mr. Wright, I felt the spiritual quality of the park. On my last morning there, I ventured on the Door Trail past the usual overlooks.
A clearing storm at sunrise painted the formations in the background a golden color along with pinks and blues in the clouds above. It was a spiritual moment to be there.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus