Dakota Tribe in Minnesota

On the map to the left you can see that the dots (the Dakota) are cluttered more toward the south. This is due to the Europeans and the Ojibwe tribe. When the Europeans made the Dakota people sign treaties it essentially took a majority of their land, specifically northern Minnesota. When the Dakota signed the treaties it caused outrage from the Ojibwe people. The Ojibwe attacked the Dakota pushing them even further south than the Europeans did.

Furthermore, the majority of these red dots surround rivers and creeks. When the Dakota signed the European treaties, it left them with very little land. In the beginning, the Dakota were only allowed a 10 mile strip on both sides of the Mississippi River, which explains the clustered dots around the Mississippi. To further the conversation on location, in the south and by rivers, the map reveals a large clump of red dots in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Since the Dakota were moved south and by the Mississippi, there are a lot of Dakota people still in the surrounding area of their ancestors. There is also a more diverse culture in the Twin Cities than in any other area of Minnesota, which is likely another reason for people to reside in that area.

Based on archaeological evidence, the Dakota tribe were the first to arrive on Minnesota's land around 1000 AD. They lived here alone until the Ojibwe tribe arrived in the mid-1700s. The Dakota allowed the Ojibwe to move onto their land that was east of the Mississippi, and at this point, the Ojibwe acted as middlemen in the trades with the French. The success of Dakota cultural practices on Minnesota’s land convinced the French to adopt much of the Dakota way of life by 1737. Competition between companies in the fur trade intensified and trading posts shot up everywhere. Voyagers would paddle hundreds of miles in birchbark canoes carrying 90 pound packs.

Consistent trade between the Europeans and the Dakota led to cultural exchange, where even the most remote Dakota had access to European goods. The Dakota culture became more diverse due to marriages between Europeans and the Dakota, these marriages led to children and communities of diverse heritage developed. As you can see in the map on the right, many of the red and purple dots are located further south and surrounding the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. The purple dots represent places in Minnesota that have kept their indigenous names, this represents a connection between the tribe and the land. This is likely because of the move south that the Dakota people were forced to make 100's of years ago.

The Dakota Tribe had a very unique cuisine compared to modern day Minnesota. The Dakota people lived a very traditional lifestyle. They moved camps every season to find the best game and water source for their people. The men fished or hunted game and the women cooked and prepared the meals. They have always had a deep emotional connection with the land and natural resources, and while some food practices have changed over time, this connection to land has remained. Due to the respect and value they have for the land, they never take advantage or waste any of earth's creatures and its resources. The Dakota people are thankful to the animal that they hunted for giving up its life to help their people, and try to honor it by not putting any of it to waste. In Autumn, the tribe moves to the best hunting ground for their “annual hunt” to prepare for the upcoming winter. The Dakota hunters share the game with the whole tribe depending on the needs of each individual. Some of the animals the Dakotan’s hunted are buffalo, deer, elk, geese, antelope, and game birds.

Before horses and rifles were common, the Dakota people hunted bison on foot, often getting dangerously close to them so they would have better aim using spears. The tongue, heart, liver, and back fat of the buffalo were often used as “special treats” to celebrate something. The main part of the buffalo, the muscle meat, was cut into strips then hung in a tree or branches in the sunlight and left to dry to make jerky. Jerky was a convenient food source because it lasted a long time and was easy to carry when the men went hunting or when the village moved camps. In the winter, the months were often spent living off supplies from the previous year, as well as continuing to fish and hunt. They often used rawhide from the buffalo's intestines as containers to store food or prepare meals. In the summer the Dakota often moved camp near the water to gather wild rice, harvest medicines and indigenous plants and so that families could fish and hunt.  On the map you can see that there are many green areas, those areas are where the best wild rice is found, which makes sense that most of the bigger reservations are located around the same place. The Dakota tribe also harvested grains and vegetables such as corn, squash, and beans. In the spring months men went on hunting parties while the women, children, and elderly moved into sugaring camps to make syrup and maple sugar.

Etiquette and manners are of high value to the Dakota tribe. The Dakota’s social structure is based on etiquette and manners. Without the aim to remain proper in the rules you were no longer considered to be living in Dakota truth. To be a good Dakotan you held responsibility to everyone around you and you respected your elders. On the map you can see that the red areas are where many of the reservations are and where there are lot of elders that the Dakota people value. The Dakota people also value honesty and wisdom. Proper etiquette and manners were expressed through being a good relative and the social culture allowed everyone to feel like they were family. The Dakota held ceremonies where everyone was free to speak and be heard. Dakota reservations where these ceremonies take place still exist in Minnesota today. Examples include the Prairie Island Indian Community which is located near Welch, Minnesota and the Lower Sioux Indian Community which is located in Morton, Minnesota.

We can connect these values to stereotypes about Minnesota today. Minnesota is known for the saying “Minnesota Nice” because the people tend to be courteous and well-mannered. 

Through research we also learned that these Dakota values were often exploited by the Europeans because it would foster trade and establish valuable relationships in the Dakota community; these relationships were later used against the Dakota people. 

The Dakota tribe has a unique language of their own. They use it in everyday conversation, trades, rituals, and practices, just like most cultures. Most nights, the elders of the village would gather around the campfire and tell detailed stories of the past to the children. The Dakota language is a Siouan language spoken by almost 30 tribes. The language was first created through pictographs where the drawing directly represented the meaning of the word. When European missionaries first arrived, they wanted the Dakota people to try and teach them how to speak in their native tongue to help the two groups communicate and further understand each other, as well as to help trades and everyday conversations go smoother. The language was first put into words when the Europeans arrived around 1840. The first written word was “Tawaxitu” in 1834, it means friend. The European-Americans first made it a written language to translate biblical text. The language most similar to the Dakota is the Lakota language, also a Siouan tribal language. The Dakota and Lakota people consider themselves part of the same culture. The only real difference between the two dialects is that the Lakota language has a “L” in it while the Dakota language does not, there are also some slight variations in the pronunciations of certain words. On the map you can see that where the blue, red, and orange dots are is where Dakota people live and practice their language.