The Snake River is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the St. Croix River in east-central

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is one of three streams in Minnesota with this name. Its name is a translation from the

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

''Ginebigo-ziibi'', after the

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 ...

peoples who made their homes along this river. Kanabec County's name is derived from the Ojibwe word for this river.

Course

The Snake River with its tributaries drains a area of Aitkin, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

counties. After initially flowing southward from its headwaters in southern Aitkin County, the Snake flows through Kanabec County, turning eastward near

Mora, Minnesota Mora is a city and the county seat of Kanabec County, Minnesota, Kanabec County, Minnesota It is located at the junction of Minnesota highways Minnesota State Highway 23, 23 and Minnesota State Highway 65, 65 and is along the Snake River (St. Cro ...

, following a minor fault line. It drains into the St. Croix River east of

Pine City, Minnesota Pine City is a city in and the county seat of Pine County, Minnesota, Pine County, in east central Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,130 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Part of the city is on the Mille Lacs Indian Re ...

. At Pine City, the river measures approximately 650 cubic feet per second.

Associated lakes and tributaries

Two lakes are associated with the Snake River: Cross Lake and Pokegama Lake. Cross Lake is a translation from the

''bimijigamaa'', meaning "a lake that traverses (another body of water)", and is located from the river's mouth. Pokegama Lake, located from the river's mouth, gets its name from the Ojibwa ''bakegamaa'', meaning "a side-lake (of another body of water)". Major tributaries of the Snake River are the

Knife River The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi (193 km) long, in North Dakota in the United States. Knife is an English translation of the Native American name. It rises in west central North Dakota, in ...

, Ann River, Groundhouse River, and Rice Creek.

Culture

The Snake and the

Knife A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least Stone Age, 2.5 million years ago, as e ...

rivers served as the main waterway to connect the St. Croix River with

Mille Lacs Lake Mille Lacs Lake ( , also called Lake Mille Lacs or Mille Lacs) is a large, shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropol ...

. As recorded by

Henry Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi ...

, Chief Kappamappa made his home at Chengwatana at the mouth of the Snake. A stream near the outlet of Pokegama Lake is called

Mission Creek Mission Creek (from Spanish: ''misión'') is a river in San Francisco, California. Once navigable from the Mission Bay inland to the vicinity of Mission Dolores, where several smaller creeks converged to form it, Mission Creek has long since b ...

, for a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

mission which brought the first printing press to Minnesota, to print literature in the

Ojibwe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous la ...

. During the treaty-making periods, this river was inhabited by the ''Biitan-akiing-enabijig'' ("Border-sitters") who were both

and

. The ''Biitan-akiing-enabijig'' had numerous internal skirmishes as they defined themselves as either Ojibwa or Dakota, giving a false perspective that the

Mdewakanton The Mdewakanton or Mdewakantonwan (also spelled ''Mdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'' and currently pronounced ''Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'') are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota people, Dakota (Sioux). Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake (Da ...

Dakota Sioux The Dakota (pronounced , or ) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Wester ...

and Ojibwa Nations were at constant war. Eventually, the ''Biitan-akiing-enabijig'' who defined themselves as Ojibwa became part of the St. Croix Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the Snake River sub-band subsequently became part of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota, one of the four constituent tribes of the

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Mille can refer to: People * Constantin Mille, Romanian journalist and politician * Mathieu Mille, French ice hockey player Places * Mille Lacs County, Minnesota * Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota. * Mille River, a tributary of the Awash River ...

. The

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

post was established on the river in 1804, near present Pine City. The post was used for several years, then abandoned and destroyed in a fire. The site was later rediscovered and excavated. The rowhouse and palisade fence were reconstructed and opened up as a

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

museum in 1970. Together with Cross Lake and the

, the 1757 edition of the

Mitchell Map The Mitchell Map is a map made by John Mitchell (1711–1768), which was reprinted several times during the second half of the 18th century. The map, formally titled ''A map of the British and French dominions in North America'' &c., was used ...

identifies this river system as "Portage River" as it served as the waterway that connected the St. Croix River with

and the upper

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, via a short portage.

References

* Cordes, Jim (1989). ''Pine County ... and its memories''. North Branch: Jim Cordes. * Waters, Thomas F. (1977). ''The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. . {{authority control Rivers of Minnesota Rivers of Aitkin County, Minnesota Rivers of Kanabec County, Minnesota Rivers of Mille Lacs County, Minnesota Rivers of Pine County, Minnesota Tributaries of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota) Minnesota placenames of Native American origin

Course

Associated lakes and tributaries

Culture

See also

References