 Highway marker (shield) for Indian Route 18 | |
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An Indian route is a type of minor numbered road in the United States found on some Indian reservations. These routes are part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Road System, which also includes federal aid roads, interior or locally funded roads, highway trust fund roads, tribal public roads, county or township roads, parts of the state highway system, and other federal agency public roads. [1]
Indian routes are signed by shields featuring a downward-pointing arrowhead with varying designs depending on the state and/or reservation. Maintenance of these routes varies by locality and could be the responsibility of the BIA, a given tribal nation, or both. BIA route numbers are used on sign posts, atlas maps, plans, programs, reports, and other bureau records requiring similar identification. A spur to an existing route is always assigned its own route number. [2]
Historically, the term "Indian route" referred to one or more components of an extensive network of trails used by indigenous peoples for war, trade, and migration, long before the advent of railroads and highways. [3] These routes were often along relatively high ground or ridges where the soil dried quickly after rains and where there were few streams to be crossed, following important mountain passes to connect river drainages, while trails traveling across rather than along rivers usually followed the Fall Line. [3] Oral tradition is usually the major source for route identification, but this is sometimes supplemented by field notes of land-grant surveys, old county maps, and historic narratives from scientists, explorers, soldiers and law enforcement officials. [4] Later explorers, traders, and colonists followed some of the major routes, such as the Iroquois trail, up the Mohawk River, the Great Warrior Path that connected the mouth of the Scioto River to the Cumberland Gap and Tennessee Country, the Chickasaw-Choctaw Trail, which became the noted Natchez Trace, and the Occaneechi Trail, from the site of Petersburg, Virginia, southwest into the Carolinas. [3]
Contemporary Indian routes are divided into sections, each of which represents a discrete and specifically defined portion of the route. [2] Sections are usually numbered 10, 20, 30, etc. in one of the orders that the sections would be traversed during travel. A section break occurs when it is necessary to accurately report data associated with a change in the nature of the route. In particular, a section break is required whenever any of the following occur: [2]
The main span of a bridge together with all its approach spans is a single section.
Kent is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, alongside the border with New York. The population was 2,979 at the 2010 census, up from 2,858 at the 2000 census. The town is home to three boarding schools: Kent School, the Marvelwood School, and South Kent School. The Schaghticoke Indian Reservation is also located within town borders.
Bennett County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,431. Its county seat is Martin. The county lies completely within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. To the east is the Rosebud Indian Reservation, occupied by Sicangu Oyate, also known the Upper Brulé Sioux Nation and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST), a branch of the Lakota people.
The Warm Springs Indian Reservation consists of 1,019 square miles (2,640 km2) in north-central Oregon, in the United States, and is occupied and governed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was created by the Act of March 2, 1889, 25 Stat. 888. in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border. Today it consists of 3,468.85 sq mi (8,984.3 km2) of land area and is one of the largest reservations in the United States, larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
The Little Bighorn River is a 138-mile-long (222 km) tributary of the Bighorn River in the United States in the states of Montana and Wyoming. The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was fought on its banks on June 25–26, 1876, as well as the Battle of Crow Agency in 1887.
The Lower Sioux Indian Reservation, also known as the Mdewakanton Tribal Reservation, is an Indian reservation located along the southern bank of the Minnesota River in Paxton and Sherman townships in Redwood County, Minnesota. Its administrative headquarters is two miles south of Morton. The reservation is located southeast of Redwood Falls, the county seat.
The Schaghticoke are a Native American tribe of the Eastern Woodlands who historically consisted of Mahican, Potatuck, Weantinock, Tunxis, Podunk, and their descendants, peoples indigenous to what is now New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The remnant tribes amalgamated in the area near the Connecticut-New York border after many losses.
State Route 112 is a state highway and scenic byway in the U.S. state of Washington. It runs east–west for 61 miles (98 km) along the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Clallam County, connecting the Makah Indian Reservation near Neah Bay to U.S. Route 101 (US 101) near Port Angeles.
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe is one of three federally recognized tribes of the Ute Nation, and are mostly descendants of the historic Weeminuche Band who moved to the Southern Ute reservation in 1897. Their reservation is headquartered at Towaoc, Colorado on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation in southwestern Colorado, northwestern New Mexico and small sections of Utah.
State Route 25 (SR 25), named the Coulee Reservoir Highway, is a 121.17-mile-long (195.00 km) state highway serving communities in Lincoln and Stevens counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 2 (US 2) east of Davenport and continues northwest to cross the Spokane River on the Spokane River Bridge. From the bridge, SR 25 parallels the Columbia River and Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake upstream through several small communities, passing the Gifford–Inchelium Ferry, to Kettle Falls. In Kettle Falls, the roadway intersects US 395, co-signed with SR 20 and continues north to Northport, where former SR 251 is intersected and SR 25 crosses the Columbia River on the Northport Bridge. The highway travels northwest to the Canadian border, where it becomes British Columbia Highway 22 (BC 22).
State Route 544 is a state highway in northern Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It runs east–west for 9 miles (14 km) near the Canadian border, connecting SR 539 near Lynden to Everson and a junction with SR 9 in Nooksack.
U.S. Route 70 (US 70), also known as the Old West Highway, is an east–west U.S. Highway in the U.S. state of Arizona. The current route starts at US 60 in Globe and runs through the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Safford and Duncan into New Mexico near Virden. In Arizona, US 70 passes through mostly isolated hilly and mountainous terrain largely paralleling the course of the Gila River and the Arizona Eastern Railway.
U.S. Route 191 (US-191) is a major north–south state highway through the eastern part of the U.S. state of Utah. The present alignment of US-191, which stretches from Mexico to Canada, was created in 1981 through Utah. Previously the route had entered northern Utah, ending at US-91 in Brigham City, but with the completion of I-15 it was truncated to Yellowstone National Park and re-extended on a completely different alignment. In addition to a large portion of US-163, this extension absorbed several state routes: SR-33, most of SR-44, and SR-260.
US Highway 2 (US 2) is a component of the United States Numbered Highway System that connects Everett, Washington, to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of the US state of Michigan, with a separate segment that runs from Rouses Point, New York, to Houlton, Maine. In Michigan, the highway runs through the UP in two segments as a part of the state trunkline highway system, entering the state at Ironwood and ending at St. Ignace; in between, US 2 briefly traverses the state of Wisconsin. As one of the major transportation arteries in the UP, US 2 is a major conduit for traffic through the state and neighboring northern Midwest states. Two sections of the roadway are included as part of the Great Lakes Circle Tours, and other segments are listed as state-designated Pure Michigan Byways. There are several memorial highway designations and historic bridges along US 2 that date to the 1910s and 1920s. The highway runs through rural sections of the UP, passing through two national and two state forests in the process.
US Highway 45 (US 45) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Mobile, Alabama, to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of the state of Michigan. The highway forms a part of the state trunkline highway system that is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). It enters the state from Wisconsin south of Watersmeet, ending at an intersection with Ontonagon Street in Ontonagon. In between, the roadway crosses the UP running for approximately 54 3⁄4 miles (88.1 km) through the Ottawa National Forest and parallel to the Ontonagon River.
State Route 241 (SR 241) is a north–south state highway serving Yakima and Benton counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The 25-mile (40 km) highway begins at SR 22 in Mabton and travels north to Sunnyside, where it intersects Interstate 82 (I-82) and U.S. Route 12 (US 12). SR 241 continues north into the Rattlesnake Hills and ends at a junction with SR 24.
South Dakota Highway 40 (SD 40) is a state highway in southwest South Dakota, United States. The highway is just over 37 miles (60 km) long and runs from U.S. Route 16A (US 16A) in Keystone to Bureau of Indian Affairs Highway 41 in Red Shirt. The highway runs near Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, and its eastern terminus is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near the edge of Badlands National Park.
The Indian Reservation Roads Program (IRR) is part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and is meant to meet the transportation needs of American Indians in the United States, American Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives. These roads, also known as BIA Roads are given to tribes by providing funds for planning, designing, construction, and maintenance activities.
The Trail of the Ancients is a National Scenic Byway located in the states of Colorado and Utah. The route highlights the archaeological and cultural history of southwestern Native American peoples, and traverses the widely diverse geological landscape of the Four Corners region. It was the first National Scenic Byway that was designated solely for its archaeological sites. The entire route is approximately 480 miles (772.5 km) long.
The Regional designations of Montana vary widely within the U.S state of Montana. The state is a large geographical area that is split by the Continental Divide, resulting in watersheds draining into the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. The state is approximately 545 miles (877 km) east to west along the Canada–United States border and 320 miles (510 km) north to south. The fourth largest state in land area, it has been divided up in official and unofficial ways into a variety of regions. Additionally, Montana is part of a number of larger federal government administrative regions.
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