Leith North Dakota Sioux Indian Woman Butchering Cow 1912 Real Photo Postcard

This postcard, likely from the early 20th century, depicts Native American women dressing a beef near Shields, North Dakota, a location proximate to the Standing Rock Reservation. This activity highlights the significant adaptation of Indigenous foodways among Lakota and Dakota peoples following the near extinction of the American bison. Cattle became an essential protein source and an integral part of subsistence economies for reservation populations during a period of profound cultural and environmental change.