M'do'-te: Where the Rivers Meet Mendota M'do'-te: Where the Rivers Meet

Fur Trade For nearly 150 years fur traders came and went in the land we now call Minnesota.

Exploration In 1805, a young army officer named Zebulon Pike was sent by the United States to find a good place to build a fort.

Pike Island Pike camped on a flat, sandy island at the place where the Minnesota River (called St. Peter's River at that time) joins the Mississippi.

M'do'-te The island was a sacred place for the Dakota who lived nearby; it was the birthplace of their people, their "Garden of Eden." They called the island and the land around it M'do'-te, which means "the place where rivers meet."

For Sale? Pike met with the Dakota leaders. He offered gifts to the tribe if they would let the Americans have some land. The Dakota agreed, but had no real sense of "owning" land, they simply lived off the land.

War of 1812 In the meantime, the United States fought a war with England. The English had settled in Canada. The United States thought England wanted to keep the rich fur trade to itself. They felt that American fur traders needed protection from the English.

The Fort In 1820, on a steep cliff overlooking Pike Island, construction of the fort began. The purpose of the fort was to protect the American fur trade from the British, and to keep peace between the Dakota and the Ojibwe.

Leavenworth Col. Henry Leavenworth and 100 soldiers were supposed to build the fort, but many did not survive the first winter. They camped on the area we now call Picnic Island, which is right below the Mendota Bridge.

Snelling Col. Josiah Snelling took over construction of the fort, which took nearly five years to build. They decided to name the fort after the man who was in charge of building it, instead of Fort St. Anthony, after nearby St. Anthony Falls.

American Fur Company A large American Fur Company trading post stood just across the river from Fort Snelling. It is the oldest house in Minnesota, and was built in 1835.

Sibley House This trading post was owned by Henry Sibley, the man who would later become Minnesota's first governor, and the person our high school is named after.

Difficult Times As many more Europeans came into the area, the Dakota found it difficult to live off the land. Forests were cut down, and buffalo, deer, bear, and other animals to hunt were scarce. European farming was different than the way the Dakota had grown crops. The Dakota began to starve, while the Europeans had plenty.

Treaties In 1837, the United States government bought a large part of Wisconsin and all of the Dakota land east of the Mississippi. 1n 1851, the Dakota were asked to sell all of their land in Minnesota. They agreed because the government said they would not give the Dakota the horses and food that had been promised to them.

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling was no longer on Dakota land. It had stood for 30 years. It had never been attacked, and its soldiers had fought no battles.