The Dakota people have lived in the Minnesota River Valley for centuries. Historically they fished in the river, gathered
wild rice from river's edge beds, as well as nuts and roots, and hunted game.
Chief Ṡaḳpe in 1858 in 1864|right Chief Ṡaḳpe (Shock-pay), which means "number six" in the
Dakota language, was the name of a line of chiefs of a village in this area. The city of
Shakopee later developed near this site and was named for the chiefs.
Chief Sakpe I received the name "Ṡaḳpe" because one of his ancestors was the sixth in a set of
sextuplets.
Chief Ṡaḳpe II (died 1860) signed the 1851 Treaties with the United States on behalf of the Dakota at Traverse Des Sioux and Mendota; he traveled to Washington, DC to sign the 1858 Treaty on behalf of the Dakota.
Chief Ṡaḳpe III (1811–1865) was a leader during the
U.S.–Dakota War of 1862. When the Dakota people were exiled after the war, Ṡaḳpe fled to Canada. Later he was turned over to U.S. forces. Reportedly as he was preparing to be hanged on November 11, 1865, he heard a train whistle and said, "As the white man comes in, the Indian goes out."
US-Dakota War of 1862 When European-American settlers migrated into their territory in the 1800s, the Dakota people did not have a concept of permanent and exclusive ownership of land. Their conception of land use was that different peoples might live on it and share its resources. The era of settlement in Minnesota was accompanied by the United States forcing the Dakota to cede land forever, diminishing their homeland and their ability to continue their traditional way of life. The new settlers disrupted hunting grounds and restricted fishing on "their" lands. Unable to hunt, fish and gather resources adequately, the Dakota were forced to depend increasingly on the federal government's promises and provisions, often late or spoiled. The federal government's failure to deliver on these promises brought near-starvation and growing anger among the Dakota. Their resentment broke out in the US-
Dakota War of 1862.
Defeat and hardship The
US Army defeated the Dakota rebellion and in the aftermath conducted the largest domestic execution carried out under color of law in the history of the United States: hanging 38 Dakota men in
Mankato, Minnesota, on December 26, 1862. The remaining Dakota were forced to walk more than 100 miles to
Fort Snelling, where they were held in a prison camp through the winter. In 1863 Congress rescinded all treaties with the Dakota and ordered their removal from Minnesota. It wasn't until 1886 that Congress established the Shakopee Mdewakanton Reservation,
Prairie Island Indian Community Reservation,
Upper Sioux Indian Reservation, and
Lower Sioux Indian Reservation for the Dakota who never left Minnesota. But for the next century, life for the Dakota people was one of poverty and hardship.
Revitalization In 1969 the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community gained
federal recognition as a tribe. They created a government and developed an economic system. In 1982 the tribe opened Little Six Bingo Palace (later
Little Six Casino) after Indian gaming was allowed on reservation lands in states that had gaming laws. In 1992 it opened the
Mystic Lake Casino Hotel. ==Economic enterprises==