Two men standing in a fishing boat holding fish, the man on the right may be Ojibwe, end of birch bark canoe, hundreds of fish in foreground on the beach, may be Duluth or Grand Marais, may be fish drying stands in background, may be in a cove
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Lieutenant Thomas van Etten wrote to his schoolmate, William H. Seward of Chester, New Jersey, in this 1862 letter from Fort Ridgely, near the western end of Nicollet County. He wrote about his military duties and experiences and about people he knew in New Jersey. Lt. van Etten participated in the Battle of Birch Coulee and described the battle in the letter. William H. Seward was a son of President Lincoln's Secretary of State, William H. Seward, Sr.
Lieutenant Thomas van Etten wrote to his schoolmate, William H. Seward of Chester, New Jersey, in this 1863 letter from St. Peter, Minnesota. Van Etten was stationed at Fort Ridgely, near the western end of Nicollet County, and was serving as the fort's quartermaster. He wrote about his military duties and experiences and about people he knew in New Jersey. William H. Seward was a son of President Lincoln's Secretary of State, William H. Seward, Sr.
This is an elementary geography textbook in the Dakota language. It focuses on North America but includes sections on Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and a geography of ""bible lands.""
Contributing Institution:
Synod of Lakes and Prairies, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
This is a photograph of John Otherday, whose Dakota name was Ampatutokacha. Called Good Sounding Voice when he was young, he was born in the vicinity of Swan Lake in Nicollet County about 1819.
This is a photograph of Po-Go-Nay-Ke-Shick, also known as Hole in the Day, an Ojibway Native American. The photograph was taken in the studio of St. Paul photographer Joel E. Whitney. The photograph was purchased in 1862 by a woman from Indiana.
A selection from the Book of Common Prayer and liturgies of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In English and Dakota language (Santee dialect) on opposite pages with pages numbered in duplicate. University of St. Thomas, Archibishop Ireland Memorial Library call number: BV175 .S46
Contributing Institution:
University of St. Thomas - Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library
St. Benedict's Mission, White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). Survival was the sisters' prime challenge during those first years of exposure to cold and scarcity of food in White Earth. But even so, they took two orphan girls (the younger one only four years old) into their home. The care of orphans was to become an important work for them at St. Benedict's Mission as White Earth developed. Sisters Philomena and Lioba, unlike in temperaments, proved to be well-suited to work together among the Ojibwe. Sister Philomena, young and vivacious, had volunteered for missionary work; Sister Lioba, deliberate and more conservative, was fearful of venturing that far into the northern region. They learned to rely on each other's strengths and persevered through 50 years of mission work at the White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). Records indicate that, when a fire destroyed the school just a few weeks after their arrival, Sister Lioba felt justified in going back home, but Sister Philomena suggested fixing up the barn to serve as the school, which they did at a cost of $35.00. [SBMA, McDonald, pp. 232-237]
St. Benedict's Mission, White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). The various American Indian bands living in Canada and the Northwest Territory fought among themselves and the white settlers as Indian hunting grounds continued to be lost. The Dakotas finally settled farther west and the Ojibwe made land treaties with the U.S. government which reserved land around specific lakes in northern Minnesota for them. However, in 1867, the U.S. government ordered the Ojibwe to give up their scattered settlements and gather in one large reservation at White Earth. The reservation was then divided into agencies with government officials placed in charge. The bishop of the Northwest Territory sent Father Ignatius Tomazin to serve the Catholics at White Earth. Father Tomazin was a missionary from Yugoslavia who had worked among the Ojibwe for some years in the Crow Wing area and was known for his zeal in protecting their rights. While he was courageous in protesting the evils of discrimination practiced by the government agents, he perhaps lacked patience and diplomacy in his confrontations. As a result, Father Tomazin was forced off the reservation and transferred to Red Lake. In 1878, Abbot Rupert Seidenbusch, OSB, who had been appointed bishop of the newly-formed Northern Vicariate, asked St. John's Abbey to provide a priest and St. Benedict's Convent to provide teachers for White Earth. Fathers Aloysius Hermanutz and Joseph Buh from St. John's and Sisters Philomena Ketten and Lioba Brau from St. Benedict's were sent to meet the challenges of White Earth. Six days after they arrived, the sisters opened a day school for 15 pupils (12 girls and 3 boys), which increased to a total of 40 during the following week. (*The American Indian band in northern Minnesota prefer the name Anishinabe -- "Anishinaabeg" meaning "First People" -- while the French settlers called them Ojibwe, which is the more familiar name used in these records; and the government referred to them as Chippewa.) The sketch of the mission shown here is mounted on a card with the name, L. Bergman, Louisville, Kentucky, stamped on the back (SBMA, McDonald, pages 227-232), Pamphlet: "St. Benedict's Mission History, White Earth, MN, 1878-1978, as told by Benno Watrin, OSB (Printed by St. John' Abbey), 1978]
A classroom instruction tool, this 24 page wall scroll uses images, alphabet letters, words and phrases in the Dakota language to teach math functions and reading. This item was designed to hang on the classroom wall.
Contributing Institution:
Synod of Lakes and Prairies, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)