trappers. As supply and demand both declined, fur trading in America faced extinction. In 1840, Joseph LaBarge, a former steamboat captain, bought Fort Kiowa as a wintering post and Indian Agency. LaBarge housed many Indian agents whose job was to monitor and control trade between Native tribes and Euro-Americans. These agents lost popularity among the latter, who tended to view them as exploiters of the Native peoples, corrupt leaders who acted in their own interests. Popular opinion was relatively accurate as many Indian Agents were replaced during the 1840s after corruption was discovered. Under LaBarge’s ownership, Fort Kiowa was an unsuccessful venture, and as a result he abandoned it within the year. LaBarge is the last known inhabitant of Fort Kiowa. Today Fort Kiowa is currently underwater, possibly submerged under a dam reservoir, Lake Francis Case. The area where Fort Kiowa once stood is recognized as a National Historic Fort of South Dakota. Fort Kiowa is advertised as a tourist attraction in which adventure-seeking tourists can follow the same path Hugh Glass did in 1823. The 2015 film The Revenant is based on the life of Hugh Glass. References Trading posts in the United States American Fur Company Lyman County, South Dakota Pre-statehood history of South Dakota 1822 establishments in the United States