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Time before recorded history
Before written records of the area were kept, it is important to note that there were still Native Americans living here. Empires rose and fell, peoples gained and lost power, but the beginning of this timeline is not truly the beginning of indigenous history. -
Official documentation states that the Mdewakanton people had already started migrating from their ancestral home of Mille Lacs in response to expansion from the Ojibwe Nation
One of the first documented events was the beginning of the forced mass migration of Mdewakanton Sioux people from their ancestral homeland of Mille Lacs, to the south. They were forced to move because of the growth of the Ojibwe Chippewa tribe, an example of indigenous geopolitical struggles before the Europeans. -
Mdewakanton people meet a European for the first time
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, a French explorer from Montreal arrived at Mille de Lacs, and made the first recorded European contact with the Mdewakanton Sioux. -
France claims a large territory that includes Dakota County
Fur Trader Nicholas Perrot claimed what is now Dakota County for France, marking early stages of Native American land being claimed by European powers with no basis. -
The first Europeans arrive in Rice County
The first documented European to visit natives living in what is now Rice County was French fur trader Pierre-Charles Le Sueur. -
The Wahpekute tribe moves south to area around Faribault
The Wahpekute a Dakota tribe was forced from their ancestral lands by the Ojibwe in their westward expansion and relocated to a place not far from modern day Faribault. -
Battle of Kathio
The Battle of Kathio or the battle of Izatys was a conflict between the Mdewakanton Sioux and the Ojibwe Chippewa tribes ending in Ojibwe victory. This marked the end of the conflict at Mille Lacs Lake between the Mdewakanton people and the Ojibwe people and solidly established the land as Chippewa. -
American Revolutionary War begins
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The US government buys 100,000 acres of land from native tribes
After performing a survey of the land, Lt. Zebulon Pike helped to facilitate the purchase of 100,000 acres of land in what is now Minneapolis and St. Paul. The land was evaluated at over $100,000 in today's money but after some discussion, the US ended up paying only a fraction of that price. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was a sale of large amounts of land from France to the United States. Notable in the purchase was significant land in what is now Minnesota. The purchase did not have any practical implications for native americans at first, however it is important to note, especially as the French and American treatment of the inhabitants was remarkably different. -
The Wahpekute people are convinced to move from ancestral homeland to intersection of straight and cannon rivers
At the suggestion of Faribault founder, Andrew Faribault, the Wahpekute Sioux people moved near the current location of Faribault and played a large role in the city’s growth due to a large amount of trading and native american traffic. -
Ojibwe cede land north of 1805 secession and the Dakota Cede all land east of the Mississippi River
The U.S. pressured the Dakota leaders they had invited to Washington DC to ceding all land east of the Mississippi instead of just changing their southern boundary which had been the topic that they had come to discuss. The government, rather than paying the $1,600,000 that the land was worth, paid in yearly installments of $15,000, a third of which was appropriated by the U.S, reserving rather than allocating the funds for education. -
Ojibwe cede land for Ho-Chunk and Menominee reservations
Ojibwe cede land for reservations for $17,000 cash payment as well as $1,000 installments over the next 46 years. -
Treaties of Traverse and Sioux
These treaties ceded nearly all Dakota land in eastern Dakota and Minnesota. Traverse des Sioux ceded 21 million acres of land for 7.5 cents an acre, with much of the money from that ceding going to debts and other costs imposed upon the Dakota such as relocation costs and costs for establishing schools. -
Rice County is established
The Minnesota Territorial Legislature creates a boundary which partially constitutes the modern Rice County boundaries, creating rice county, although this boundary would be repeatedly shifted. -
Northfield is founded
John Wesley North settled a spot on the land ceded by the Dakota with easy access to hydrrologic power through the Cannon river and useful physical resources as well. This spot would later evolve into Northfield as we know it today. -
Minnesota is granted statehood
Minnesota was admitted into the union as the 32nd state. This brought things like greater funding, more incentive to move there and better legal status for Americans living in the area. -
Wahpekute and Medawakanton peoples sign the Treaty of Washington
For these tribes, the Treaty of Washington effectively ended up reducing their reservation on the Minnesota river by 800,000 acres. -
Civil War Begins
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The Dakota are driven from their reservation
In the aftermath of the US-Dakota war, Dakotans were driven off their reservation by the United States, with some fleeing to upper Missouri, others to Canada. -
The Homestead Act is passed
The Homestead Act passed, which allowed those who did not bear arms against the United States to claim the rights to land allotted by the government as long as they made at least minor improvements to it. This gave many citizens a real incentive to move to territories very near and previously occupied by native americans and helped the US to establish towns and cities at even the edge of the frontier. -
US Dakota war begins
As the 1861-62 winter set in, the particular scarcity of food for that year drove white settlers to hunt for meat. In addition, as treaty requirements for payment were not met by the Dakota, they were not allowed to keep their credit. Tensions continued to grow and hit a boiling point when five white settlers were killed and full blown war between the Dakota people and the US government began. -
St. Olaf Opens
After Reverend B.J. Muus, along with some trusted farmers and lawyer Mr. O.F. Perkins created articles of incorporation for a corporation called “St. Olaf College,” St. Olaf opened in 1875 with more than 50 students enrolled. -
The last of the "Faribault Indians" move away
A group of about 100 native americans dubbed the “Faribault Indians” helped to protect white settlers during the US Dakota war and wanted to stay in the region so as a reward of sorts, they were granted their own land and this is the final year that they remained on that land. -
The US enters WWII
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Bryan V. Itasca
On a Minnesota reservation, a dispute over whether the government had any right to regulate went to court and eventually made its way to the Supreme Court. This case, Bryan v. Itasca effectively gave native americans more jurisdiction over their own land and gave them the ability to build things like casino's on their land with far less regulations than in most places. -
Rice County officially recognizes indigenous peoples day in addition to Christopher Columbus Day
On October 2, the Northfield Human Rights Council brought the resolution to the City council to designate October 8 as Indigenous in addition to Columbus day as part of the council’s consent agenda proposals, which was approved unanimously by the city council, although Councilman David Delong abstained from voting, saying that aspects of the resolution were historically inaccurate, saying that “the idea is good but the execution is terrible”. -
St. Olaf officially releases a Land Acknowledgement Statement
St. Olaf took a step towards reconciling with its past and that it's land used to belong to native americans but was stolen from them. -
Present Day and future
This timeline ends here but this is not the end, many more relevant events will happen that could fit on this timeline and even if its in a small way, everyone can play a part, so, if its through activism, a land acknowledgement statement, or something else, make the sure that the next events are for good.