The Fox Lake Phase, 100 B.C.- 900 A.D., is represented in southwestern Minnesota, eastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa. Considered part of the early-middle Woodland period, Fox Lake is characterized by small seasonal villages. Habitation sites were located near small lakes and streams during the warm months; sheltered river valleys and woodlands during the winter.
Subsistence strategies were consistent with those of hunting-gathering cultures and the diet consisted of the fish, bison and small mammals associated with a prairie-lake environment. No evidence has been found to indicate horticultural activities. The Fox Lake toolkit consisted of scrapers, knives and stemmed and side notched points manufactured from local chert, chalcedony and quartz. Ceramics were generally of the Fox Lake incised type. Mortuary practices are not yet known.