1. Missouri River 1. The Dakota live along parts of the Missouri River. Historically, the Dakota used this river to travel to their hunting and trade territories in the Missouri Coteau (a narrow band of prairie upland that stretches from southern Saskatchewan to South Dakota). Explorer David Thompson wrote: “These Indians the Sieux [Dakota] Nation are yet a powerful nation, and their present hunting grounds? are between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and now make use of the Horse instead of Canoes." (David Thompson. "The First Years with the North West Company: 1797-1798." Page 175-187 in The Writings of David Thompson Volume 1: The Travels, 1850 Version. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009.) Vocabulary: 1. stretches: reaching from one point to another
Transcript
1. Missouri River1. The Dakota live along parts of the Missouri River. Historically, the Dakota used this river
to travel to their hunting and trade territories in the Missouri Coteau (a narrow band of prairie upland that stretches from southern Saskatchewan to South Dakota). Explorer David Thompson wrote: “These Indians the Sieux [Dakota] Nation are yet a powerful nation, and their present hunting grounds? are between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and now make use of the Horse instead of Canoes." (David Thompson. "The First Years with the North West Company: 1797-1798." Page 175-187 in The Writings of David Thompson Volume 1: The Travels, 1850 Version. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009.)
Vocabulary:1. stretches: reaching from one point to another
2. The Dakota made use of all of the Mississippi River to travel and trade. Historical records show that many Dakota groups lived along and around the Upper Mississippi River. The area of the Upper Mississippi River is filled with Dakota villages and landmarks. Some of these camps were seasonal, as the Dakota moved to different areas of their territory throughout the seasons. French records from 1679 show Dakota villages at the crux of the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers (White, 42-49). French records from 1689 also show Dakota groups occupying areas near the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, which the Dakota called “Bdote Mni Sota” (White, 20). This includes modern day St. Paul, Minnesota, Fort Snelling, and Pike Island. In the nineteenth century, David Thompson noted: “the Tribes of these people under the name of Sioux [Dakota] extends over the east side of the Plains and down a considerable distance of the Upper part of the Mississippi." (Thompson, David. "Westward: 1798–1807" in The Writings of David Thompson, Volume 1: The Travels, 1850 Version, Page 247. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009.)
3. The Dakota used the Red River to travel to their trade and hunting territories on the plains. Hudson Bay Company (HBC) records from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century mention the Dakota frequently travelling along the Red River to visit Fort Garry and Fort Douglas to trade with the HBC and other Indigenous groups. In the early 1800’s, Dakota Chiefs travelled along the Red River to meet with Thomas Douglas Selkirk who was establishing a colony at Red River. Selkirk sought to establish a trade partnership and territorial sharing arrangements with the Dakota for the Red River settlers (See: Selkirk Papers, December 7, 1816, 2976.). The HBC records also show that the Dakota protected the parts of the Red River as their hunting territory, and describe numerous conflicts between the Dakota and other Indigenous groups who invaded their territory. (See: Journal at Brandon House, 1817-1818. HBC B22.a20; Upper Fort Garry Journals 1814-1815, February 1814. Hudson's Bay Company Archives. Winnipeg, Manitoba; Selkirk Papers, July 25, 1814, p1185). The Dakota also negotiated a treaty with the M� tis at Red River in 1844 (Alexander Ross, The Red River Settlement: Its Rise, Progress and Present State. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1856)
4. The Souris River was another water body used by the Dakota as a travel route to hunt on the Missouri Coteau. According to David Thompson in 1797, both European newcomers and Indigenous groups avoided the Souris from the spring to the fall to avoid conflict with the Dakota, who laid claim to this territory at this time. He recorded that a trading house along the Souris River, called Ash House, had to be closed because of the attacks by the Dakota. (Thompson, David. David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America. 1784-1812. Edited by Joseph Burr Tyrrell. Toronto: Champlain Society, 1916.) In 1857, British explorer Henry Hind wrote of the Dakota presence in the area, stating that the HBC maintained their post along the Souris River near Portage la Prairie only in winter because it fell within the seasonal hunting grounds of the Dakota. (Henry Youle Hind, Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857 and the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858, Vol I, p.28.)
5. The Pembina Hills are part of the Dakota traditional hunting territory. They are located in modern day Manitoba and North Dakota. Hudson Bay Company journals from the early 1800’s record groups of Dakota camping and hunting in the Pembina hills, as well as defending this territory from invasions of other hunters. (Upper Fort Garry Journals 1814-1815. February 1814. Hudson's Bay Company Archives. Winnipeg, Manitoba; Selkirk Papers, July 25, 1814, p1185.)
Vocabulary:1. invasions: attackers
2. traditional: long established
6. Lake Superior
6. The Dakota occupied the region west of Lake Superior. The Dakota were recorded in areas that include present-day Duluth, Minnesota and Chequamegon Bay, Wisconsin. French explorer Daniel Greysolon, Sieur (Lord) Dulhut, met with the Dakota in 1679 in the present-day Duluth-Superior area. (White, 41) In 1659, explorers Radisson and Groseilliers attend a Feast of the Dead near modern day Lac Courte Oreilles, Wisconsin to which “eighteen severall nations” came and participated, including Anishinaabeg, Wyandot, Menominee, Cree, and Dakota. (Martin Fournier, Pierre-Esprit Radisson, 1636-1710: Merchant Adventurer, translated by Mary E. Brennan-Ricard (Sillery, Quebec : Septentrion, 2002): 97-125.)
Vocabulary:1. occupied: filled
2. present-day and modern day: today
7. Brandon House
7. Brandon House was a Hudson Bay Company fort from 1723-1824. The specific location of the fort was moved multiple times throughout this period, but the fort was generally located along the Assiniboine River near the mouth of the Souris River. The area around Brandon House was part of the Dakota traditional territory. The Dakota occupied the area near Brandon House for travel, trade, and hunting purposes. Numerous Hudson Bay Company employees record the Dakota hunting near the fort in the early 1800’s. (Brandon House Journal, 6 May 18 J 9. H13C Arch. 1322/a/21 fo.53v.; HBC.22 a18b.)
Vocabulary:1. mouth: entrance
2. numerous: lots
3. traditional territory: long established location
8. Fort Douglas
8. Groups of Dakota made frequent visits to Fort Douglas to trade and visit with settlers and the local Indigenous people. HBC records from 1820 detail a peace treaty negotiated between the Assiniboine and Dakota. In 1821, approximately 180 Dakota visited Fort Douglas regarding unfulfilled promises of trade and land arrangements made by Thomas Douglas Selkirk before his death. A letter written at that time stated: "Three Chiefs of the [Dakota] Sioux ... said that when the late Earl of Selkirk passed through their country he had made them certain promises which had not yet been performed and that they were now come for the last time to have them fulfilled &c. from the state of our provisions, and being obliged to hunt in their country, Colonel Dickson telling everybody that such promises had been made &c." (Letter from Allez, September 4, 1821, Selkirk Papers, 7365-7367.)
Vocabulary:1. approximately: about
2. late: dead
3. obliged: require
4. &c: and others, et cetera
9. Fort Garry
9. The Dakota occupied the area near Fort Garry for travel, trade, and hunting purposes. Interactions and trade with other Indigenous groups occurred frequently in this area. Numerous Hudson Bay Company employees record the Dakota hunting near the fort in the early 1800’s. On March 1, 1860 a peace treaty was concluded at Fort Garry between the Red River Saulteaux and the Dakota. This treaty was witnessed by Governor William Mactavish of Assiniboia. According to the account of the negotiations published in the Red River Settlement's newspaper, "The Nor'Wester," the Dakota groups involved were Yanktonai and Sisseton. ("An Indian Council", The Nor 'Wester, 14 March 1860.)
Vocabulary:1. interactions: talks
2. negotiations: discussions
10. Milles Lacs
10. “Milles Lacs” was referred to as Spirit Lake or Bde Wakan by the Dakota people. Located in present day Minnesota, this was an important area for the Dakota people. Late seventeenth century French sources show multiple Dakota villages in the area (White, 24). The Milles Lacs area had access to a variety of rivers, including the Mississippi and St. Croix. Dakota oral tradition tells of growing corn at Mille Lacs, as well as harvesting rice and maple syrup. Hunting and fishing also occurred in and around the lake (White, 7, 24, 41).
Vocabulary:1. multiple: more than one
2. access: able to get to
11. Michilimackinac
11. The fort at Michilimackinac was a significant trading area and meeting place for the Dakota. The post at Michilimackinac was a trading centre for the First Nations living around Lake Superior, south to the Ohio River, and east to the Mississippi. For this reason, Crown officials often met with First Nations at the fort. This is the location where the 1787 Peace and Friendship Treaty between the Dakota and the British Crown was negotiated and signed. (Articles of Peace at Michilimackinac, July 12, 1787. LAC RG 10 Vol. 16 pp. 157-160 Reel C-1224.)
Vocabulary:1. negotiated: discussed
2. officials: people at a certain level
12. Cypress Hills12. The Cypress Hills were a shared area where Plains Indigenous groups would meet for
councils and ceremonies. According to Wahpeton Dakota Elder Cy Standing, Cypress Hills was a traditional hunting area for the Dakota, and that the area was shared with groups like the Cree and the Blackfoot. It was also considered a sacred area, and medicine wheels, tipi rings and burial grounds are located here. (Sarah Carter, Oral History Report: Dakota/Lakota Treaty Adhesion Claim, p 4.) In 1810, a meeting between the Bloods and the Dakota took place at Cypress Hills; this occurred again two generations later in the 1860s. (Annotated Index Dakota/Lakota Oral History, 24.) Blackfoot oral history confirms that the Dakota peoples were hunting in the Cypress Hills area. (Dakota Sioux Treaty Adhesion Claim Submission. Submitted on behalf of Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation and Wahpeton Dakota Nation by Stonechild & Racine. 2003, p 44.) In April of 1875, Commissioner French of the Northwest Mounted Police advised the Minister of Justice that the Cree and Salteaux had no exclusive right to the Cypress Hills region, which had been included within Treaty No. 4. That country, he said, was the “recognized hunting ground and warpath of the Sioux [Dakota], Assiniboine Sioux and Blackfeet tribes.” Minister of the Interior David Laird, who had been one of the Treaty Four Commissioners, replied that he and his colleagues had been aware of the fact, and that the Treaty had only been intended to extinguish Cree and Saulteaux rights. (Annual Report of the Northwest Mounted Police, 1874, Appendix A, Diary, p 41.)
Vocabulary:1. exclusive: single
2. extinguish: destroy
3. traditional: long established
13. Northwest head of the Churchill River
13. Oral histories show that the Dakota travelled through what is now northwest Saskatchewan. There are Dakota place names located along the northwest head of the Churchill River. According to Cree history, the Dakota came north along the Ballantyne River, known by the Cree as the Puatsipi or Dakota River. They travelled along the river to conduct raids against the Cree and Assiniboine long before the establishment of the first HBC fort in the Ballantyne River area in 1774 (Elias, The Dakota of the Canadian Northwest, 5-6.)
Vocabulary:1. raids: sudden attack
2. establishment: start of
14. Lake of the Woods
14. Lake of the Woods was previously called “Lac des Sioux” [Lake of the Sioux]. In the eighteenth century, the Dakota controlled areas around the Lake of the Woods. (White, 29; Arthur Dobbs, An account of the countries adjoining to Hudson's Bay, in the north-west part of America, 32-45.) The Dakota protected this part of the territory from intruders. In 1736, the Dakota killed a group of French newcomers for intruding into their territory. (Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol 68, p 280. Reuben Gold Thwaites, ed. Clevland: The Burrows Brothers, 1899;Journals and letters of La Verendrye. LJ Burpee, ed. (Toronto: Champlain Society, 1926), 263-264.) As well, Sioux Narrows is a place name on the Lake of the Woods that commemorates the site of a major battle among the Dakota, Cree, and Ojibwe.
Vocabulary:1. adjoining: next to
2. account: report
15. Turtle Mountain, MB
15. The Dakota hunted in and occupied the Turtle Mountains as they moved to their seasonal hunting grounds. This was also an important meeting area for holding council with other local Indigenous groups. In 1743, two French explorers, Louis-Joseph de La Vérendrye and François Gaultier Du Tremblay, encountered a group of Dakota just southwest of Turtle Mountain on the northern Great Plains. In 1862, a group of Dakota led by H’damani permanently settled in the Turtle Mountains, later establishing a reserve there. In 1910, the Government of Canada closed the reserve in order to sell the land to settlers, even though it had been the home of the Dakota for centuries. The community from the Turtle Mountains was forced to disperse to other nearby Dakota communities in Manitoba, including Sioux Valley and Canupawakpa (Elias, 132-147).
(Elias, 132-147; See also http://www.turtlemountain.org/exhibits/mythandhistory/number60)
16. The local land use area of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation extends south along the South SK River to the “Elbow” of the river (near the current location of Elbow, SK). The territory south of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation to Elbow remains part of the traditional use area for hunting today. This includes the sand hill region throughout this area, as well as the river valley. In the winter of 1884, a Saskatoon Justice of the Peace interviewed Whitecap community members Long Nose and Little Crow. In this interview, these men demonstrated that lands used for hunting and trapping extended to the south of the reserve to Elbow. Long Nose and Little Crow stated that a large group of men were “up the river between this and the elbow hunting and trapping. They look for the red fox, badger, skunk, mink, rabbit, etc. […] we have lots of deer in the Sand Hills. Since the heavy snow set in, we have shot sixteen.” (Powers to Dewdney, December 30, 1884, LAC, RG 10, Vol 3703, file 175894.)
Vocabulary:1. sand hill region:
2. traditional: long established
17. Beaver Creek
17. For the community of Whitecap, the Beaver Creek watershed is an important area for traditional land use practices. The community of Whitecap established a settlement near the Beaver Creek area in the 1870’s, later moving south to their current location. This area continues to be an important hunting and gathering area. Today, members of Whitecap hunt deer and other game along the creek. As well, people use this area to gather traditional foods and medicines.
18. The Moose Mountain area, which is located near present day Kenosee, SK, is part of the historical Dakota hunting territory. Throughout the 1860’s, people from the Whitecap community hunted in the Moose Mountains. People from Whitecap’s community shared this hunting area with the Assiniboine people who lived in the Moose Mountain area. The Whitecap Dakota people lived and hunted with people from this Assiniboine community (Elias 32). There have been numerous medicine wheels and other significant archaeological sites found in the Moose Mountain area.
Vocabulary:1. numerous: quite a few
2. historical: past
19. Fort Ellice
19. Fort Ellice was a Hudson Bay Company trading post located near where the Assiniboine and Qu’Appelle rivers meet. HBC records show that the Dakota traded at Fort Ellice throughout the 1860’s and 1870’s. (Journal of Daily Occurrences, Fort Ellice Post Journal, 1868. HBC 63 a10, File No. 26. Hudson's Bay Company Archives. Winnipeg, Manitoba; Elias 27-34.) They also hunted and trapped in this area (Fort Ellice Journal, 1868-1869, November 25, 1868).
20. Standing Buffalo was one of the Chiefs who led the Dakota people back to their traditional northern territory following the 1862Minnesota War. Until the 1870’s the groups of Dakota led by Chief Standing Buffalo (Tatankanaje) and Whitecap (Wapaha Ska) frequently travelled and hunted together. In the early 1870’s they established a settlement along the Qu’Appelle lakes. Chief Whitecap and his community later moved to the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. In 1881 a reserve was issued near the Qu’Appelle Valley to Standing Buffalo’s community. Today, ties between the two communities remain, and Whitecap community members travel to Standing Buffalo to hunt, fish, and attend cultural ceremonies.
Vocabulary:1. traditional: long established
2. frequently: often
3. ties: connections
21. Wahpeton Dakota Nation
21. Wahpeton was established and recognized as a Reserve in 1894. Present day Wahpeton Dakota Nation is located 15 km northwest of Prince Albert. The Dakota people had been living in and around this area for hundreds of years, with settlements in Little Red River Park (94B), Peter Pond, Cooke Municipal Golf Course, Carlton School, Miller´s Hill and a few other places in what is now modern day Prince Albert. Today, Whitecap community members travel to Wahpeton to hunt, gather medicines, and attend cultural ceremonies.
22. The Moose Woods area is located along the South Saskatchewan river. Whitecap has an abundance of wildlife, fish, and plants, as the area includes riverbed, wetlands, and sand hills. Forced by the Canadian government to settle on reserve lands in the 1870’s, Chief Whitecap and his community chose the area along the South Saskatchewan River known as “Moose Woods”, partially due to the abundance of plants and wildlife in the area. The community settled in the area in the mid 1870’s, and the reserve lands were officially surveyed in 1879.
Vocabulary:1. abundance: lots
2. riverbed: an area where the river flows
23. South Saskatchewan River
23. The South Saskatchewan River is the western border of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation. The proximity to the river influenced Chief Whitecap to settle in the area, then known as Moose Woods, when the community was forced to settle reserve lands in the 1870’s. Historically, the Whitecap Dakota community used the South Saskatchewan River to travel. The community also fished, hunted game, and gathered foods in and along the river, primarily south to Elbow and north to the area of present-day Saskatoon. Some of these activities continue to this day, and the river remains of central importance to the Whitecap community.
Vocabulary:1. proximity: nearness
2. historically: in the past
24. Saskatoon, SK
24. The area of Saskatoon is part of the Whitecap Dakota traditional territory. Chief Whitecap led land John Lake to the site of present-day Saskatoon in 1882, when Lake arrived in search of a location for a Temperance Colony. Archaeological sites, the most notable of which are located in the Stonebridge area, date back 6000 years and include buffalo processing and camp sites. The community of Whitecap established ties with local settlers when they arrived. This included trade and labour relationships, as well as friendships. For example, Chief Whitecap had a significant friendship with one of Saskatoon’s first citizens, Gerald Willoughby. Whitecap residents sold hay and other items to Saskatoon businesses. One Saskatoon shopkeeper spoke Dakota, and so the Whitecap community frequented his store when they came to town to buy goods. Social and economic ties continue to this day.
Vocabulary:1. frequented: done often
2. traditional territory: long established location
