Native Ground

Anoka

Two Indian nations used the word Anoka with different meanings. In the Dakota language, the word meant “on both sides,” referring to the point of land where the Rum and the Mississippi rivers put water “on both sides.” The Ojibwe language used Anoka as part of a phrase that meant “to work” or “to work the water.”

According to the Minnesota Historical Society, “Minnesota is centered within Dakota creation stories and is an important place in traditional Ojibwe history.” Other nations that acknowledge Minnesota is important to their tribal histories include the Ho-Chunk, Cheyenne, Oto, Iowa, and the Sac & Fox tribes. Visit the MNHS website for more information https://www.mnhs.org/fortsnelling/learn/native-americans

Cession 289

Cession 289 occurred in 1851 and named the
Sioux (Wahpeton and Sisseton Bands), present-day
Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota. It’s also known as the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux of 1851. This treaty transferred millions of acres to the US Government for 7.5 cents per acre.

where they trod

The point of land between the two rivers was a special place to the Native Americans, and a trail ran along the top of the bluff. No one knows how long the Ojibwe used that trail, but people noted it as a well-worn path in the earliest available historical references. The Woodbury family preserved the trail by passing its story along to the subsequent owners, who have passed it along repeatedly. It is kept today as a path of river rock set in cement along the crest of the bluff.

Charles Kiewel loved the rolling lawns around the house and took special pride in keeping up not only these but also the old Indian trail along the top of the bluff. That trail may be why a cigar store-style Indian was placed near the top of the bluff. No one knows why or who put it there, but most memories believe Charles was responsible for the figure. It remained for many years and was the object of curiosity among local children. The daughter of the subsequent owners of the house remembered the Indian. She recalled the statue had been tipped over, perhaps by vandals, and broken. She also guessed that if someone were adventurous, they could locate parts of it halfway down the bank. There was an old fence about midway across the bank (ostensibly to catch her), but it might also have ‘caught’ the statue parts. In its place, her mother installed a large urn on a pedestal.

The Indian trail legend was passed along with the property, and the Johnstons knew the story well. At one place in the yard, there was a slight depression along the trail route, and a small arch had been constructed to cross this low spot. It was a favorite place to play. One of Barb’s fond childhood memories was playing “Three Billy Goats Gruff” with her father at this bridge. They would act out the tale over and over. Usually, she was each one of the goats (in the appropriate succession, of course), and he was the troll. Thus, she “won” every episode. But sometimes she was the troll, and got to “Grrrrrr! Who’s that tromping over my bridge?” in her meanest little girl voice.