The history of Minnesota

The history of Minnesota concerns the state ofBritish. Spain claimed the rest of the region
Minnesota that forms part of the United Statescomprising the current state.
of America. It is located along the northern borderHowever, no Spanish explorers had come through
with Canada, at the western shore of Lakethe area, and it was eventually transferred to
Superior.French hands in 1800.
The first people came to region that now formsIn the late 18th century, The United States came
Minnesota during the last Ice Age, following herdsinto being. A portion of previously British territory
of large game. The Anishinaabe, the Sioux, andin Minnesota was soon claimed by Americans. The
the other Native American inhabitants of theNorthwest Territory was formed in 1787 and
region represent the ancestors of these firstincluded lands east of the Mississippi, including the
early settlers. European presence began with thenortheastern region around Lake Superior.
coming of French fur traders in the 1600s. DuringIn 1800, the Northwest Territory was divided into
the 1800s most of the Native Americantwo parts. The western portion became Indiana
population was pushed out as American settlersTerritory while the eastern part became Ohio.
moved westward. By 1858, thousands of peopleAlso in 1800, a wide swath of land once claimed
had come to build farms and cut timber, andby Spain became French territory, but it didn't
Minnesota became the 32nd US state.stay that way for long. The Louisiana Purchase
evidence indicates that human beings first camebrought most of what is now Minnesota under
to the region about 12,000 to 10,500 years agothe control of Americans in 1803.
(10,000 BC to 8500 BC).In 1809, the eastern portion of Minnesota again
Clovis points have been discovered in the area,changed names, this time becoming Illinois
but dating stone tools is difficult. Some NativeTerritory until the State of Illinois was formed in
Americans believe that humans came to North1818. The land became part of Michigan Territory.
America even before this time.The western part of the state became known as
Some of the earliest evidence of a sustainedpart of Missouri Territory in 1812, until it became
presence in the area comes from a site knownunorganized in 1821 when Missouri became a
as Bradbury Brook near Lake Mille Lacs whichstate.
was used around the year 7500 BC. Before long,The western portion of Minnesota was merged
extensive trading networks apparently began tointo Michigan Territory along with the eastern
grow. The body of an early resident known asportion that was already part of that region in
"Minnesota Woman" was discovered in 1931 in1834. It was separated off in 1836 to become
Otter Tail County. Radiocarbon dating determinedWisconsin Territory. Another two years, and Iowa
that she had come through the area inTerritory was separated off in 1838.
approximately 6600 BC. She had a conch shellThe area was split off again when Iowa was
from a snail species known as Busycon perversa,formed from Iowa Territory in 1846.
which has only been known to exist in Florida.Minnesota Territory finally came into being on
Several hundred years later, the climate ofMarch 3, 1849. The territory stretches west to
Minnesota warmed significantly.the Missouri River. A flurry of other activities
Archaeologists have found that stone tools shrankoccur the same year as cities and counties are
in this time as native people transitioned fromincorporated and new agencies are formed under
hunting (very) big game toward smaller creatures.the new government (such as the Minnesota
Hooks, nets, and harpoons were also devised forHistorical Society).
catching fish.On May 11, 1858, Minnesota was admitted into
Around 5000 BC, people on the shores of Lakethe Union as the 32nd state.
Superior (in Minnesota and portions of what isIn 1805, two years after the Louisiana Purchase,
now Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada) were theZebulon Pike purchased land from the Dakota that
first on the continent to begin making metal tools.would later become the basis of Fort Snelling. For
They used pieces of ore with high concentrationsAmericans, this was the first region that could be
of copper. The pieces were initially pounded into alegally settled. However, a permanent U.S.
rough shape, heated to reduce brittleness, andpresence didn't come to the new land for more
pounded again to refine the shape, and heatedthan a decade.
again. Edges could be made sharp enough to beIn 1837, treaties were signed individually with the
useful as knives or spear points.Mdewakanton Dakota and Ojibwe, ceding land
Native people began intentionally leaving their markbetween the St.
around 3000 BC. Stone carvings depicting peopleCroix and Mississippi so that lumberjacks could
and animals were carved into rock faces until justcome in and start logging.
a few hundred years ago. Pieces of potteryThe Ho-Chunk were moved in 1847 by the U.S.
began to appear at shortlived settlements aboutgovernment after a treaty was signed with them.
2000 years later. Around 700 BC, burial moundsThey were moved from northeast Iowa and
were first created. The practice of makingsoutheast Minnesota into a reservation in the
mounds also continued until about the time whitecentral part of the state where Todd County
settlers began moving into the area. At one time,currently is. The reservation was meant to be a
10,000 such mounds dotted the state.buffer zone between the Dakota and Ojibwe
By 800 AD, wild rice became a staple crop in thetribes, which were continuing to come into conflict.
region, much like corn farther to the south. WithinAlso in 1847, the Ojibwe ceded a section of land
a few hundred years, the Mississippian culturewest of the Mississippi in central Minnesota to the
reached into the southeast portion of the state,U.S. government.
and large villages were formed.The Dakota tribes ceded a massive swath of
The Dakota Indian culture may have descendedsouthern Minnesota in 1852, except for a region
from some of the peoples of the Mississippianalong the western part of the Minnesota River.
culture.Two vast stretches of land were ceded by the
According to local legend, the earliest EuropeansOjibwe in following years. The first comes in 1854,
to arrive were Vikings from Scandinavia aroundand composed most of the modern Arrowhead
the year 1362. The Kensington Runestone wasRegion. The next year, another parcel of land
reportedly found in the field of Olaf Ohman nearstretching most of the way across the state was
Alexandria, Minnesota in 1898. Most scholarsceded.
dismiss it as a hoax, however.In 1855, The Winnebago tribe moved again, from
Around 1550, the legendary Iroquois Indian leadertheir settlement in Todd County to a smaller one
Hiawatha came through the area.in Blue Earth County. The Todd County
It was a few more centuries before contactsettlement was wooded, a relatively unfamiliar
between Europeans and Native Americans ofarea for the tribe, which was more accustomed
Minnesota could be confirmed. In the late 1650s,to prairie life.
Pierre Esprit Radisson and Sieur des GroseilliersIn 1858, another blow was dealt to the Dakota
were probably the first to meet Dakota Indianstribe as half of their land around the Minnesota
while following the southern shore of LakeRiver (the northern bank) was ceded.
Superior (which would be northern Wisconsin). TheRepresentatives of the tribe had gone to
north shore was explored in the 1660s. AmongWashington, D.C. to discuss grievances about
the first to do this was Claude Allouez, apayments, but were instead pressured into signing
missionary on Madeline Island. He made an earlyanother treaty.
map of the area in 1671.In 1863 and 1864, another large swath of land
Also around this time, the Ojibwe Indians reachedwas ceded by the Ojibwe to the United States. A
Minnesota as part of a westward migration.small area of land around Red Lake within this
Having come from a region around Maine, theysection remained in Ojibwe hands.
were experienced at dealing with white traders.The last of the northern Ojibwe lands outside of
They dealt in furs and possessed guns. TensionsRed Lake in Minnesota are ceded in 1866 and
rose between the Ojibwe and Dakota in the1867.
ensuing years.Native people had been on the land for millennia.
In 1671, France signed a treaty with a number ofMany of the earliest major villages were part of
tribes to allow trade. Various explorers andthe Mississippian civilization, though that society
traders were soon coming through the region.came apart long before Europeans came into the
French trader Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut wasarea. The Ojibwe came in the mid-17th century,
soon in the area and trading with the local tribes.and the earliest white settlements by French
Du Lhut explored the western area of Lakeexplorers appeared soon after, but didn't take
Superior (hence the city of Duluth) and areasroot.
south of there. He helped to arrange a peaceA military encampment known as Fort St.
agreement between the Dakota and OjibweAnthony appeared at the confluence of the
tribes in 1679.Minnesota and Mississippi rivers in 1819. The first
Father Louis Hennepin with companion Michel Acowinter, more than 30 people died when supplies
(and possibly another) headed north from theran low in a temporary encampment down near
area of Illinois after coming into that area with anthe river.
exploration party headed by René RobertIn the following five years, the men quarried
Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. They were capturedstone and felled trees to build the fort, soon
by a Dakota tribe in 1680. While with the tribe,named for Colonel Josiah Snelling, who led the
they came across and named the Falls of St.group. The fort was built to protect the American
Anthony. Soon, du Lhut negotiated to havefur trade by preventing British traders from
Hennepin's party released from captivity. Hennepintaking business away from U.S. traders.
returned to Europe and wrote a book, published inAt the fort, Lawrence Taliaferro was an agent of
1683, about his travels where many portionsthe U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. He spent 20
(including the part about St. Anthony Falls) wereyears at the site, finally resigning in 1839. A
strongly embellished.community known as Mendota began growing
Explorers still searching for the fabled Northwestacross the river, but squatters also made their
Passage and large inland seas in North Americapresence known in another nearby camp. A
continued to pass through the state. In 1731, thenumber of the people at the fort didn't appreciate
Grand Portage trail was first passed through by athe new presence, Taliaferro among them. The
European, Pierre La Vérendrye. He used afort imposed new restrictions a few times,
map written down on a piece of birch bark byforcing the squatters to head downriver.
Ochagach, an Assiniboin guide.The squatters, mostly from the ill-fated Selkirk
The North West Company, which traded in furColony in what is now the Canadian province of
and competed with the Hudson's Bay Company,Manitoba, next settled a site known as Fountain
was established along the Grand Portage inCave.
1783–1784.This site wasn't quite far enough for the officers
The area of Minnesota was first claimed byat the fort, so the squatters were forced out
France in the 17th century, before anyone hadagain, this time naming their settlement Pig's Eye
even visited the area.after Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, a popular
Explorers came through over the course of aboutmoonshiner of the colony. The name was later
a century. In 1763, the French ceded much ofchanged to Lambert's Landing and then finally
their claimed territory in North America to theSaint Paul. However, the earliest name for the
Kingdom of Great Britain in the Treaty of Parisarea comes from an Indian colony Im-in-i-ja Ska,
following the Seven Years' War. Northern regionsmeaning "White Rock" and referring to the
of Minnesota now came under the control of thelimestone bluffs nearby.