Where the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers meet is Ft. Snelling, now a state park in Minnesota. The land that Ft. Snelling was built on was purchased from the Dakota Indians by intrepid explorer Zebulon Pike of "Pikes Peak" fame. The land includes a small island known as "Pike Island."
While negotiating with the Dakotas for a place to build Ft Snelling, Pike estimated the value of the land at $200,000. Congress paid the Dakota tribe $2,000.
After the Dakota Indian uprising Pike Island became essentially a concentration camp for Indian women, children and old men. Over 600 Dakota Indians died on this tiny space. Indians on Pike Island were relocated several move times and eventually ended up in Nebraska.
Today, Pike Island is a very pleasant place to spend a Saturday afternoon. We spent time on a nice walk around the island. Couples with small children in strollers pushed their children around the comfortable walking path occasionally stopping to take pictures of the kids against the background of the woods. Naturally there are always a couple of kids who don't want their picture taken and make it known by screaming and carrying on which kind or ruins the serenity of the island walk.
One doesn't have to be that troubled about what happened to the Dakotas on Pike Island. There is only a plaque and some structure that looks like a tinker toy to commemorate the occasion. Once you begin the walk you can quickly put those two things out of your mind and enjoy the pleasant fall day.
The sounds of rich, white and very privileged boat owners in very expensive boats with powerful motors echo up and down the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.
It was a pleasant way to spend the day.
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