Mazomani
On this ridge is located the grave of Mazomani, a leader of the Wahpeton (Dwellers in the Leaves) Dakota, who died of injuries he received on September 23, 1862, at the battle of Wood Lake during the Dakota (Sioux) War. Mazomani (Iron Walker) was among the Dakota leaders who went to Washington DC, in 1858 to negotiate a treaty selling half of the Minnesota River Valley reservation. Throughout the course of the tragic 1862 war, he tried repeatedly to make peace between the Dakota and whites and to protect those Dakota who had chosen to remain at peace from those who tried to force them to fight. According to Dakota oral traditions, he was wounded by white soldiers while carrying a flag of truce as he tried to enter their camp to arrange for the release of captives. His friends and followers carried him from the battlefield to a camp near here, where he died early the following morning after embracing his wife and his daughter and telling them, “I love you very much, but I am going to leave you now.”
Mazomani’s daughter, Mazaokiyewin (Woman who Talks to Iron), was among the many Dakota forced into exile at Crow Creek on the
this page online
Erected 1984 by Minnesota Historical Society, Upper Sioux Dakota Community.
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Native Americans • Wars, US Indian. A significant historical year for this entry is 1862.
Location. 44° 43.924′ N, 95° 26.505′ W. Marker is near Granite Falls, Minnesota, in Yellow Medicine County. Memorial can be reached from Minnesota Route 67, on the right when traveling east. Located at in overlook at Upper Sioux Agency State Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5908 MN-67, Granite Falls MN 56241, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Upper (Or Yellow Medicine) Sioux Agency (approx. half a mile away); The Annuity Center/Warehouse (approx. half a mile away); Upper Sioux Agency (approx. half a mile away); Employee Duplex No. 1 (approx. half a mile away); The Manual Labor School (approx. 0.6 miles away); Employee Duplex No. 2 (approx. 0.6 miles away); Agency Homes (approx. 0.7 miles away); Yellow Medicine City (approx. ¾ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Granite Falls.
Also see . . . Upper Sioux Agency State Park.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 7, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 7, 2020, by Connor Olson of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 376 times since then and 84 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 7, 2020, by Connor Olson of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
