Ȟeyáta Othúŋwe

Ȟeyáta Othúŋwe. Cloud Man Village at Bde Maka Ska 1829-1839. , This beautiful gathering area is located on Bde Maka Ska, the Dakota name for "white banks lake." In 1830 Maḣpita Wic̣aṡta, a Bedwaḳaŋṭuŋwaŋ Daḳota (spiritual people who live by the water) whose English name was Cloud Man, led the development of the first year-round agricultural village near Bde Maka Ska. The village was known as Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe, which means "the village at the side.", The historic significance of this village is multifaceted. It was the first year-round settlement in the Minneapolis area, and the location of the first schools that served both Dakota children and children of mixed heritage. Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe also welcomed the Presbyterian missionaries Samuel and Gideon Pond, who built a cabin in the area. People in the village collaborated with the Pond brothers to write the first known English text in Dakota language., United States Treaties with the Minnesota Dakota from 1805-1853 contributed to the loss of Dakota homeland and relocation of villages. Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe was moved to Bloomington and the Redwood Falls area before exile from Minnesota after the 1862 Dakota War. Cloud Man died in the internment camp below Fort Snelling where many Dakota elders, women, and children were held awaiting exile. After exile, Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe descendants were instrumental in establishing the Bend in the River Dakota Community on the banks of the Big Sioux River near Flandreau, South Dakota., Those descendants, following the community approach similar to that used at Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe, established a Presbyterian Church there, built a mission school, and farmed the land. Tribal members from that same community in the Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation later returned to Minnesota, where they provided leadership in restoring the name Bde Maka Ska to the lake and in recognizing Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe at this place. Another information panel with details on the artwork Zaniyaŋ Yuṭokca (Brave Change) is located at the far side of this gathering space., The two Seth Eastman paintings shown here, "Dacotah Village" and "Guarding the Corn Fields" depict Dakota year-round birch bark lodges and women tending corn fields, a common sight at Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe. Artist Seth Eastman married Cloud Man's daughter Stands Sacred, by Dakota custom. Their daughter Mary Nancy Eastman, was the mother of the American Indian writer of international renown Charles Alexander Eastman also known as Ohiyes'a., Special thanks to Syd Beane, Kate Beane, and Carly Bad Heart Bull for volunteering their Dakota leadership throughout the Bde Maka Ska name restoration and Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe recognition processes. They are descendants of both Cloud Man and Seth Eastman as well as members of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe. This interpretive signage was dedicated in 2024., Approximate area of Cloud Man Village, Guarding the Corn Fields, painting by Seth Eastman, 1849-1855, collection of Minneapolis Institute of Art, Dacotah Village, painting by Seth Eastman, 1849-1855, collection of Minneapolis Institute of Art, Artwork funded by City of Minneapolis Art in Public Places, gathering space funded by Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, signage funded by a Metropolitan Council regional recreation open space grant