Native Americans | MNopedia

Ona Kingbird teaching Anishinaabemowin at the Heart of the Earth Survival School

Ona Kingbird teaching Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language) to students at the Heart of the Earth Survival School, November 28, 1972. From the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspaper negatives collection, Minnesota Historical Society.

AIM news conference, 1971

After the occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, Dennis Banks (at microphone) and other AIM leaders hold a news conference with US Senator Walter Mondale (right) on May 21, 1971. From the Minneapolis and St Paul newspaper negatives collection, Minnesota Historical Society.

AIM at Twin Cities Naval Air Station

On May 17, 1971, AIM activists scaled a fence to begin their occupation of the Twin Cities Naval Air Station. From the Minneapolis and St Paul newspaper negatives collection, Minnesota Historical Society.

Sarah Bad Heart Bull and AIM members in Custer, South Dakota

Sarah Bad Heart Bull (center, wearing glasses) confronts law enforcement officers on the steps of the courthouse in Custer, South Dakota, 1973. From box 3 (152.B.11.3B) of Wounded Knee Legal Defense / Offense Committee records, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Dennis Banks and Russell Means in Custer, South Dakota, 1973

Dennis Banks (left), Russell Means (center), and David Hill (right) inside the courthouse in Custer, South Dakota, 1973. From box 3 (152.B.11.3B) of Wounded Knee Legal Defense / Offense Committee records, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

AIM protest in Custer, South Dakota

American Indian Movement (AIM) activists confront law enforcement officers in Custer, South Dakota, February 6, 1973. From box 3 (152.B.11.3B) of Wounded Knee Legal Defense / Offense Committee records, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Lac qui Parle Mission

Lac qui Parle Mission in Chippewa County was the leading station of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions’ work among Dakota people between 1835 and 1854. Though missionaries cited it as the most successful project of its kind among the Dakota, the mission failed in its objective to replace Dakota culture with European American lifeways. Throughout its existence Lac qui Parle was a multicultural community, where Dakota people and European Americans cooperated with each other but experienced deep divides.

Totidutawin and Tonwaniteton

Totidutawin (also known as Catherine) and her son Tonwaniteton (also known as Lorenzo Lawrence), ca. 1880s. Both were important Dakota leaders in the Lac qui Parle Mission community.

Thomas Williamson with Dakota church members

Pajutazee (Yellow Medicine) Mission church members gathered in front of Thomas Williamson’s home, August 1862. Williamson is visible fourth from the left, wearing the hat.

Map of ABCFM missions to the Dakota in Minnesota

Map of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) missions among the Dakota in Minnesota. The Lac qui Parle Mission is the farthest west, along the Minnesota River. From Linda M. Clemmons, Conflicted Mission: Faith, Disputes, and Deception on the Dakota Frontier (St Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press), 37.

Gale Family Library