Kaya Paha

Kaya Paha is a form of Keya Paha, a Dakota name meaning “Turtle Hill.” The name belongs to a river and the country it crosses in southern South Dakota and northern Nebraska. The Keya Paha flows east through the prairie to join the Niobrara, its valley cutting through the grassy uplands of the northern plains. Its Indigenous name recalls a landmark in a landscape of open country and winding watercourses.