www.mnhs.org/genealogy/dakotafamily/resources.htmAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Correspondence
(Manuscript Collection, BA10/.A512b)
Typewritten copies of correspondence, 1827-1878, with missionaries-including Riggs, Williamson, and others-at the Dakota and Ojibwe missions in Minnesota. It also includes biographies, diaries, and other records sent to the board. These are copies of originals in the Houghton Library at Harvard University. Indexed in Grace Lee Nute's Northwest Missions Manuscripts and Index, 1766-1926. MHS call number: M587.
Aiton, John Felix, and Family Papers
(Manuscript Collection, P1447)
Aiton was an early Presbyterian missionary teacher to the Dakota Indians at Red Wing (1848-1850) and Kaposia (1852-1855) villages. Of particular interest are a ledger book with early census data from Wakute's [Red Wing's] village, school attendance register listing pupils at Kaposia and Little Crow's Village, and a Dakota-English dictionary compiled by Aiton.
The censuses of the Red Wing band taken by Aiton in 1849 and 1850 have been transcribed by Mary Bakeman and published in the Minnesota Genealogical Journal no. 9 (Mar. 1993): pp. 853-858. MHS call number: Reading Room CS 42 .M553 no. 9.
Bluestone, Rose Whipple, Interview, 1976
A Dakota Indian born at Prairie Island and raised in Santee, Nebraska, recalls her childhood and her education at boarding schools for Indians. She discusses the Dakota War of 1862 and Christianity, particularly her Episcopal upbringing. 60 minutes; 18-page transcript.
Brown, Joseph R. and Samuel J., and Family Papers
(Microfilmed Manuscript Collection, M595)
The papers reflect Samuel J. Brown's lifelong interest in and involvement with the Dakota Indians (he was one-eighth Dakota and a member of the Sisseton tribe). Information on the Dakota Indians can be found in the "Correspondence and Other Papers" series. Much of it relates to the Dakota Conflict of 1862 and its aftermath, the imprisonment of the Dakota and their removal to Dakota Territory, the service of Sisseton and Wahpeton scouts with the United States Army, attempts to win government annuities for the scouts, and the opening of the Sisseton Reservation to white settlement. Some of the materials are in the Dakota language; several are accompanied by English translations. Of particular genealogical interest are the following census/lists:
1864 census at Crow Creek Agency, or Fort Thompson (Reel 3)
1867 census of Lake Traverse Indians (Reel 5)
1869 (Jan.) list of Indians at Fort Wadsworth, Lake Traverse (Reel 5)
Cathedral of St. Paul Parish Record Books, 1840-1857
(Manuscript Collection, BA1.2/.S2C3)
Photostatic copies of the registers of baptisms, marriages, deaths, and confirmations conducted by Catholic priests at St. Paul and at St. Peter's Church in Mendota, giving the names of settlers, "half-breeds," fur traders and their families, and Indians. Many of the entries—which are in French, Latin, and English—were made by Father Lucien Galtier. (Originals are in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Archives.)
Chambers and Johnson Family Papers
(Manuscript Collection, P1240)
The collection includes a few papers related to Harvey Johnson's work (1855-1856) in taking a census of the Dakota "mixed-bloods" on the Lake Pepin reservation, including a list of Indians and "half-breeds" (Box 1).
County Birth Records
(Microfilm, each county has its own SAM number assigned, see catalog)
As of October 2005 the Minnesota Historical Society Library has county-wide birth records for only 11 counties: Anoka, Brown, Dodge, Faribault, Martin, Mower, Olmsted, Steele, Wadena, Waseca, and Washington.
County Death Records
(Microfilm, each county has its own SAM number assigned, see catalog)
As of October 2005 the MHS Library has county-wide birth records for only 12 counties: Anoka, Brown, Dodge, Faribault, Kandiyohi (1946-1980 only), Martin, Mower, Olmsted, Steele, Wadena, Waseca, and Washington.
County Marriage Records
(Microfilm, each county has its own SAM number assigned, see catalog)
The Library has as of October 2005 marriage records for only 15 counties: Anoka, Brown, Clay, Dodge, Faribault, Kandiyohi, Martin, Mower, Olmsted, Ramsey, Rice (1865-1866 only), Steele, Wadena, Waseca, and Washington.
Dakota Conflict of 1862 Manuscripts Collections
(Microfilm, M582)
This compilation comprises a variety of small collections of letters, reminiscences, reports, diaries, and related materials dealing with Minnesota's Dakota Conflict and related activities of 1862-1865. They primarily detail the personal experiences of both white and Indian participants or witnesses, including raids and killings, construction of fortifications, hostages' experiences, the execution at Mankato of 38 Dakota Indians, and the subsequent Sibley and Sully punitive expeditions into western Minnesota and Dakota Territory. A few items offer insight into the background and causes of the conflict.
A Dakota English Dictionary, by Stephen Return Riggs; edited by James Owen Dorsey; with a new foreword by Carolynn I. Schommer.
St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society, 1992.
MHS call number: PM 1023 .R55 1992.
Dakota Friend (Dakota Tawaxitku)
(microfilmed Newspaper Collection, filed under St. Paul)
A newspaper in both Dakota and English for November 30, 1850-August 31, 1852.
Dakota Grammar: With Texts and Ethnography, by Stephen R. Riggs; edited with a preface by James Owen Dorsey; introduction by John D. Nichols.
St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society, 2004.
MHS call number: PM 1021 .R48 2004.
Dakota Identity in Minnesota, 1820-1995, by Carolyn Ruth Anderson
Thesis (Ph.D.), Indiana University, 1997.
MHS call number: E99 .D1 A47 1997.
Dakota, Mixed Blood Indian, and White Biographical Files Notebook
(no call number; ask staff for help)
Compiled by Alan Woolworth from the Minnesota Biographies Project, this notebook contains photocopies of biographical information on Dakota Indians, mixed blood Indians, and whites who married into Indian families. Most entries include date and place of birth and death, a brief narrative of their life, and citations to newspaper articles or other material. Arranged alphabetically.
The Dakota or Sioux in Minnesota as They Were in 1834, by Samuel W. Pond
St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1986.
First published in 1908 in the Minnesota Historical Collections, volume 12.
MHS call number: Reading Room E 99 .M435 P66 1986.
The Dakota War of 1862, by Kenneth Carley
St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001.
MHS call number: Reading Room E 83.86 .C3 2001.
* Diocese of Minnesota [Episcopal]. Diocesan Records
(Manuscript Collection, Alpha)
The ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the area of present-day Minnesota began with the appointment of a chaplain (Clement F. Jones) to Fort Snelling in 1828. The first Episcopal parish, Christ Church, was established in St. Paul in 1850. The Diocese of Minnesota was founded in 1857. In 1859 Henry B. Whipple was elected as the first Bishop of Minnesota. He established his residence in Faribault and during his years as bishop the church established parishes throughout the state. By 1895 the northern two-thirds of the state was separated and became the Missionary Diocese of Duluth and in 1907 it officially became the Diocese of Duluth. In 1943, however, the two dioceses were reunited under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Minnesota. The records of the Diocese of Minnesota are divided into two principal series, General Diocesan Files and Records of Bishops and Parishes. For Dakota Indian genealogy, the most useful records will be found in the second series, Records of Bishops and Parishes. An electronic inventory is available.
* The Records of Bishops and Parishes series is divided into several sub-series of use for Dakota family history: the Parish Record Books, 1856-1985, and the Bishop Henry B. Whipple Records. Although most parish registers have remained in the custody of the parishes, there are a number of registers that include baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burials among the series of Parish Record Books. Parishes for which there are parish registers that might be of use for Dakota family history are:
(Wapate would know more about what actually is there onthe Whipple papers)
