SOUTH DAKOTA
A strongly independent state, South Dakota would prefer to just be left alone. Bad weather, marauders and displacement have cut the state's population down below a third since 1962, and at these reduced levels the food supply is just sufficient. A CivGov-financed "invasion" in the fall of 1964 only strengthened a distrust and suspicion of outsiders which has always been a salient feature of the state.
1) NUCLEAR TARGETS
Date Type Target Note
10/28/62 SS-7 Hot Springs Miss, aimed at Ellsworth AFB
2) ORGANIZED MILITARY FORCES
None. The state's National Guard was mostly construction engineers and artillerymen. The artillery units were mobilized and fed into the European war early on, leaving just a few local garrisons in the state.
3) WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA
In the height of the chaos, the Native Americans in the state--a large percentage of the population--sought to band together first to survive, and then to reclaim what was once theirs. In March of 1963, representatives of the Lakota bands met at Dupree on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, and putting aside their internal political disputes, formed a joint council called the "Oceti Sakowin" (Seven Council Fires) to coordinate the survival activities of all seven Lakota bands in the state. With Frederick One Horn elected chairman, the first act of the Oceti Sakowin was to reoccupy the sacred Black Hills region, driving off interlopers, by force if necessary. A hastily raised Ogallala militia from the Pine Ridge Reservation overran the southern part of the Black Hills during the following summer. Non-Lakota were expelled, at gunpoint sometimes. There was relatively little violence at this stage of the operation, however, as many of the non-Lakota had already died from radiation from the Hot Springs strike, exposure, starvation, and violence and the military around Rapid City was busy leaving. The Lakota, who had suffered a much lower death rate due to their isolation, suddenly had an overwhelming advantage in numbers. Taking pity on some of the less obnoxious survivors, the Lakota permitted some of them to remain and orphan children and young people were often adopted into Lakota families. By the late fall of 1963, the Black Hills had been secured. The Indians today are mostly concerned with keeping what they have. They patrol daily their borders and regulate who comes and goes from the area. The white-held Rapid City area is left alone, and even traded with, and the peaceful ranchers around Pierre are tolerated.
Sturgis: The larger town of Sturgis is now home to a force of about 475 militant Lakota Indians, mainly Ogallala, under General Sebastian Big Head. The town was captured in early 1964 in an unsanctioned attack by General Big Head, who was angry at what he perceived as a lack of ambition in the Seven Council Fires leadership. This blooming power struggle will probably shape the history of the state in the coming year.
Rapid City: Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City was the home of a Titan I ICBM complex, with the launchers located in the towns of New Underwood, Hermosa, and Sturgis. On the night of October 28, 1962, the air force base was targeted for a Russian ICBM, but the 6 megaton SS-7 missed badly and hit the town of Hot Springs about 35 miles to the south. That area now is just a vast field of dirt and dust populated by mutated bugs and weeds, the fallout rooster tail leaving a swath of death and suffering across the southwestern corner of the state. With the drought and instability in the area, MilGov has abandoned the empty ICBM silos and the air base except for some Air Policemen, leaving the area to the natives. Today, the population of Rapid City has stabilized at about 8,000, mostly engaged in trading with the Lakota Indians who surround them. There are many shanty towns around the city and in a place where most everyone carries a gun, the frontier spirit is strong. To the northwest of the city there is a large, mostly Filipino refugee camp, a rare sight in this part of the country. The sole remaining MilGov stronghold is at the South Dakota National Guard camp in the city, but is really just a small garrison of armed militiamen anymore.
CivGov invasion: Last spring, troops of the Iowa Reserve Militia (on orders from CivGov command in Virginia), moved north to occupy the abandoned Ellsworth SAC base. They were there check on a rumor that there still some unfired ICBMs in the complex. The force cut through the empty grasslands of southwestern South Dakota, virtually unseen by the thinly spread Lakota sentry posts. The Iowa militia, through force of numbers rather than any military skill, forced the remaining Air Police garrison at the air base to withdraw into Rapid City. The unprepared and overmatched MilGov soldiers at the SD NG camp wisely stayed out of the action, instead just assuring that the invaders would not enter Rapid City proper. The expedition was fruitless, however, as any surviving nuclear weapons had been long ago moved to the Colorado Springs enclave. The men were extremely careful not to engage any of the Lakota, or to cause any concern in the Indians that their lands were in danger. No one in Iowa wanted the Indians raiding into their state. The militia troops are planning on heading back to Iowa before the winter snows come.
4) THE WONDERS OF THE STATE
South of Rapid City are a cluster of natural wonders and historical sites.
Crazy Horse Mountain: Home to a crashed B-52 strategic bomber with a cluster of eight B86 200-kiloton nuclear free-fall bombs. Despite the crash and the passage of time, two of these warheads are still capable of detonation, making them extremely dangerous and valuable to whoever might find them.
Wind Cave National Park: About 500 Sioux make their home here presently, including about 60 warriors. The upper levels of the cave are used to store food and other supplies. The Sioux have a variety of small arms for hunting and defense, consisting mostly of hunting rifles and shotguns, and a small quantity of military and police weapons. They also have close to 100 horses and about half as many pack mules--extremely valuable in the harsh terrain around the park.
Jewel Cave: The world's fourth longest cave, with over 80 miles of explored passages. Originally, a large elevator carried passengers from the visitor's center to the entrance into the cave, some 290 feet below the surface. Though it was 20 miles away, the nuke over Hot Springs jammed the elevator half way down, which has been enough to deter any visits to the caverns below since then. The cave holds a secret government cache, designed to be a "last ditch" stockpile in the event of a major crisis. Unfortunately, those who knew about it all died in the strike on Washington. Deep within the cave is a well-preserved stockpile of foodstuffs and seeds, as well as crates of small arms, tools, ammunition and limited quantities of petroleum products (3,000 gallons of gasoline, 2,000 gallons of diesel, 800 gallons of motor oil and a number of other lubricants). When the Eisenhower administration placed this stockpile, it was well-hidden and protected by several traps (including a particularly nasty one involving an anti-tank mine and a chemical blood-agent gas canister). The cache is of immense value to whoever can recover it.
Mount Rushmore: The mammoth sculpture of Mount Rushmore portrays the faces of four American presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lincoln. Anyone exploring the site may notice that all the electrical wiring has been removed from the area. The view from the top of the mountain is commanding, and the area is frequently used by both Sioux and Lakota scouts, though neither group maintains any kind of permanent outpost at the site.
The Badlands: From all outside appearances the badlands looks the same as it was in pre-war time. It is still dry and desolate with little or no growth, the land carved out from ancient rivers. Most people stay away from the Badlands. Recently a new rumor has been spreading across the region--an old miner went into the Badlands in search of gold the week the bombs fell in 1962. At some point in the next year, the man found the mother load. Unfortunately all he had was a mule to carry out the gold, so he only carried out a small percentage. Before he could return to get the rest of the gold, he died of an illness in early 1964. So to this day people are still trying to find the gold mine. At least 100 expeditions have gone into the Badlands searching for gold. Most of the adventurers have not returned. Even though people don't comeback it hasn't stopped people from going into the badlands. People are willing to risk their lives just so it might be easier later on in life.
5) EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA
Although the destruction of governmental control was tremendous, it was not complete. Pockets of civilization still remain in the open lands of the region, some even seemingly oblivious to the nuclear exchange. There are several local "armies" in this area, including the "South Dakota Militia Association" in Huron and the smaller "South Dakota League" in Baltic. Sioux Falls is the home of several large marauder gangs, centered around the State Penitentiary and the newly-constructed Sioux Falls Arena. Aberdeen and Watertown are both home to large survivor enclaves.
6) CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA
Pierre: As the chaos reigned in 1962, a wealthy and well-known Pierre rancher organized his neighbors into a vigilante group to combat the wandering bands of marauders. They forced out the punks and to this day have kept the state capitol and much of the open plains around it safe for travel. Not that there is much out in the open prairies to protect, with its sparse patches of timber and occasional devastated farmstead barely breaking the flat expanse of nothing. The "Ranchers", as they are called, have a standing force of 400 horsemen, with most everyone in the area pledged to join in if needed. They are vastly outnumbered by the Lakota to the west, but as long as they keep out of the Indians' lands, the two sides coexist. Today, the population of Pierre is around 20,000, thanks in large part to the security the Ranchers provide. A small group of Satanists, however, have recently set up home in the ruins of an old high school on the outskirts of the city and are doing terrible things to captives.
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