Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 300[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United States, (Minnesota) | |
| Languages | |
| Dakota, American English |
Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community is a Dakota community centered in Mendota, Minnesota. The Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community, colloquially known as MMDTC, is an organization who works to continue Dakota cultural practices and tribal organization.[2] Officially formed in 1997, the MMDTC has sought to be a federally recognized tribe by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as offering community activities such as Pow Wows, Dakota language and culture classes, and partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society.[2]
History
The Dakota people are the original inhabitants of the land that is now known as Minnesota, specifically centered around the modern day Twin Cities, Mille Lacs Lake, and Minnesota River Valley.[3][4] The name "Minnesota" comes from the Dakota phrase "Mni Sota," which was used as the name for the Minnesota River and meant "cloudy water," which was then used by settlers as the name for the entire state. The Minnesota River has a strong cultural significance for the Dakota people as the place where it joins the Mississippi River, in St. Paul, Minnesota, is known as Bdote and holds an island known as Wita Tanka, which is considered the place that Dakota people were created according to their spirituality.[3]
European Contact
Before American colonists had made contact with them, Dakota people had lost much of their northern lands in wars with the Ojibwe people, who themselves had been forced westward in conflicts with colonists and had therefore acquired the advantage of guns and ammunition before the Dakota.[5] The first official contact between the Dakota and the United States Government was the 1805 Pike's Treaty, in which the U.S. was able to establish a military fortress, Fort Snelling, and the land that would later comprise the modern Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metro area.[6] This meant the loss of the area around Bdote and Wita Tanka, and so the heart of the Dakota land. Many treaties were later signed with the U.S., sequestering the Dakota people into smaller plots of land with each successive treaty, culminating in the conflict known as the U.S.-Dakota War.[7]
U.S.-Dakota War of 1862
The U.S. Dakota war was incited when U.S. officials refused to provide promised food items and goods, leading to widespread starvation and death within the Dakota reservations, particularly along the Minnesota River.[7] Dakota men therefore took up arms against the white settlers around them for their promised food and security, and ultimately their freedom from the colonists. A main figure in this conflict was Taoyateduta (Little Crow), a Dakota chief who greatly assisted in the Dakota resistance and whose descendants figure within the MMDTC.[8][9] The Dakota were ultimately defeated by the white Minnesotans and noncombatants were then placed in a concentration camp near Fort Snelling, on Wita Tanka.[7] After trials were held against those Dakota people who participated in the war, President Abraham Lincoln ordered the execution of 38 Dakota men in Mankato, the largest mass execution in U.S. history.[8] Following this, the remainder of the Dakota in the Fort Snelling camp were ordered into exile outside of the state of Minnesota.[7]
Formation
The Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal community was officially formed in 1997 in Mendota, Minnesota. Membership of the tribal community is comprised mostly of those who are descended from "mixed-blood" families, or those who are from both Dakota and White ancestry. After the U.S.-Dakota War, these families assisted in trying to drive out the Dakota combatants along with other Minnesotans, and so were able to maintain residence near Minneapolis and St. Paul in the towns of Mendota and Lilydale. This allowed them to live near Bdote and Wita Tanka, and their descendants have retained that through today.
Federal Recognition
Cultural Practices
References
- ^ Norfleet, Nicole. "Mendota Dakota still in limbo". startribune.com. StarTribune. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ a b "ABOUT". Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community. 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ a b "Bdote Memory Map". Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- ^ Westerman, Gwen. (2012). Mni sota makoce : the land of the Dakota. Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-0-87351-869-7. OCLC 852222081.
- ^ Radin, P (1914). "On Ojibwa work in southeastern Ontario, 1912".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "The Treaty Story". www.mnhs.org. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- ^ a b c d "The US-Dakota War of 1862". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- ^ a b "US-Dakota War of 1862". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- ^ "ANCESTORS". Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community. 2012-05-29. Retrieved 2020-07-21.