Pike Island (

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

: ''Wita Tanka'') is an island at the confluence of the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

rivers in the southwestern-most part of

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

in the U.S. state of

. The island is managed as part of

Fort Snelling State Park Fort Snelling State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. For many centuries, the area of the modern park has been of importance to the Mdewakanton Dakota people who consid ...

and is within the

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is a and protected corridor along the Mississippi River through the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from the cities of Dayton and Ramsey, to just downstream of H ...

. For centuries, Dakota people have considered the area of the island to be a sacred place where they moved with the seasons to find food and resources. The island is named after Zebulon Pike, who negotiated the United States government purchase of the area from Mdewakanton Sioux Indians in 1805.

History

For centuries, Dakota people have considered the confluence area of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers to be a sacred place, Bdote, which means “where two waters come together.” The two bluffs area was considered of place of creation, where the Earth gave rise to the first Dakota man and woman. In September 1805, the island was part of a land purchased from the Mdewakanton Sioux Indians by Zebulon Pike. Pike's Purchase was later to become Fort Snelling,

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and Saint Paul. The U.S. government wanted to build a fort to protect American interests in the fur trade in the region, and Pike negotiated the treaty. Pike valued the land at $200,000, but the U.S. Senate later agreed to pay only $2,000. In 1819 Colonel Henry Leavenworth invited

Jean-Baptiste Faribault Jean-Baptiste Faribault (October 19, 1775 – August 20, 1860) was a trader with the Indians and early settler in Minnesota. His father, Barthélemy Faribault, a lawyer of Paris, France, settled in Canada towards the middle of the 18th c ...

, a French Canadian, and his family to settle on Pike Island near the new fort to help promote the fur trade. An 1820 treaty gave ownership of Pike Island to Elizabeth Pelagie Ferribault, a Dakota Indian, and wife of Jean-Baptiste Faribault. The six-week Dakota War of 1862 resulted in the deaths of hundreds of settlers and Native Americans. After the conflict, more than 400 Dakotas were tried, and 302 men condemned to be executed at

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

. President Lincoln eventually commuted the sentences of all but 38 Dakota, who were hanged in a mass execution on December 26, 1862. During this time more than 1600 Dakota women, children, and old men were held in an internment camp on Pike Island under the cannons of Fort Snelling. Winter living conditions were harsh, with little food and no shelter, and cholera struck the camp, killing more than three hundred. In May 1863, the survivors were forced aboard steamboats and relocated to Crow Creek in the southeastern

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...

, a place stricken by drought at the time. The survivors of Crow Creek were moved three years later to the Santee Sioux Reservation in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

Recreation

Pike Island is part of

and is within the

. The Pike Island hiking trail is a , natural surface loop that follows the exterior of the island to the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers and reaches a sandy beachhead. In winter, snow pack on the trail is groomed for classic cross-country skiing. Several dirt trails from the main trail reach the banks of the two rivers allowing access for fishing.

Gallery

File:MHS34FSnelPike.jpg, Fort Snelling and Pike Island, 1850 File:Dakota-Interment-Pike Island.jpg, Dakota Internment Camp, 1862

References

External links

{{Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Geography of Saint Paul, Minnesota History of Minnesota River islands of Minnesota Islands of the Mississippi River Minnesota River Landforms of Ramsey County, Minnesota Mississippi National River and Recreation Area