# Mdewakanton *Sub-tribe of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota* The Mdewakanton, whose name is also written Mdewakantonwan, are a division of the Isanti, or Santee, [[Dakota]].[^1] Their historic home is the lake now called Mille Lacs, known in Dakota as Mde Wákhaŋ or Bde Wákhaŋ (Spirit or Mystic Lake), in central [[Minnesota]]. With the [[Wahpekute]], they make up what the Wikipedia article calls the Upper Council of the Dakota, or Santee Sioux.[^1] Their descendants now belong to federally recognized tribes in Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska, and to First Nations in Manitoba, Canada.[^1] In the Minnesota record the Mdewakanton appear chiefly through the 1851 cessions. According to the [[Minnesota Historical Society]], [[Little Crow]], [[Wabasha]] and roughly eighty other Mdewakanton and Wahpekute leaders signed the [[Treaty of Mendota]] on August 5, 1851. The signing took place at [[Pilot Knob]] in [[Mendota]], and the U.S. commissioners were [[Luke Lea]] and [[Alexander Ramsey]].[^2] By the treaty's text the bands ceded "all their lands and all their right, title and claim to any lands whatever, in the Territory of Minnesota, or in the State of Iowa."[^2] On October 13, 2025, descendants identifying as Mdewakanton / Sioux "half-breed" claimants of the [[Lake Pepin]] reservation filed a civil complaint against the United States in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. They seek that land and federal recognition. The project's case record lists the matter as pending.[^3][^4] ## Who The Mdewakanton were historically organized in decentralized villages under different leaders. Their descendants today keep separate reservations, each with its own tribal government.[^1] In the United States they are counted, together with other Dakota and Yankton-Yanktonai bands, as the Dakota.[^1] Tribes with Mdewakanton descendants include: - **South Dakota:** the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe on the [[Crow Creek]] Indian Reservation, and the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe on the Flandreau Indian Reservation.[^1] - **Minnesota:** - the Upper Sioux Community (Pejuhutazizi Oyate); - the Lower Sioux Indian Community; - the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which maintains an official site;[^5] - the Prairie Island Indian Community.[^1] - Some Mdewakanton live among Ojibwe people on the Mille Lacs Reservation as the Mille Lacs Band of Mdewakanton Dakota. That band is one of the historical bands combined to form the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.[^1] - **Nebraska:** the Santee Sioux Nation, also called the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska.[^1] In Manitoba, Mdewakanton descendants live with other Dakota and Yanktonai peoples in the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation and the Birdtail Sioux First Nation. Some may also live within the White Bear First Nations.[^1] The Mdewakanton had two early primary divisions:[^1] - **Wakpaatonwedan** ("dwellers on the creek"), whose village stood on Rice Creek, Minnesota. - **Matantonwan**, recorded at the mouth of the [[Minnesota River]] in 1685. Among the named bands:[^1] - The **Kiyuksa** lived below Lake Pepin. Their main village, Keoxa, stood beside present-day Winona, and they were led by a succession of chiefs named Wapasha. - The **Pinisha** band lived at Nine Mile Creek, about nine miles above [[Fort Snelling]]. - The **Tintaotonwe** village stood on the lower Minnesota River, next to the band of the chief [[Shakopee]]. ## When By tradition the Mdewakanton were the leading tribe of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, the alliance known as the Seven Council Fires.[^1] Their ancestors may have come to the upper Midwest from the south and east. Facing competition from the Ojibwe and other Algonquian-speaking Great Lakes tribes in the 1600s, the Santee moved farther west into present-day Minnesota.[^1] In 1687 Greysolon du Lhut recorded a visit to the "great village of the Nadouecioux, called Izatys." It stood on the southwestern shore of the lake now called Mille Lacs.[^1] In the fall of 1837 the Mdewakanton reached an agreement with the U.S. government under a removal treaty. It promised them nearly one million dollars for all their lands east of the [[Mississippi River]], river islands included. The money was not paid as a single lump sum.[^1] Further dates: - **1851:** The Treaty of Mendota was signed on August 5.[^2] - **1858:** The Wakpaatonwedan division comprised the Kiyuksa, Ohanhanska, Tacanhpisapa, Anoginajin, Tintaotonwe and Oyateshicha bands.[^1] - **2025:** The Court of Federal Claims complaint was filed on October 13, which the project's record notes was [[Indigenous Peoples' Day]].[^3][^4] ## Where The historic center of the Mdewakanton was the Mille Lacs region of north-central Minnesota.[^1] The 1851 Treaty of Mendota was signed at Pilot Knob in Mendota.[^2] The project's at-issue record places that site within the boundaries of present-day Dakota County.[^6] ## How much Two figures appear in the record: - **1837 treaty:** The Mdewakanton were promised nearly one million dollars for their lands east of the Mississippi.[^1] - **2025 complaint:** The project's validated record states that the complaint seeks about $5 billion and federal recognition. It also states that the claim rests on the roughly 320,000-acre Lake Pepin "half-breed" tract set aside by the 1830 [[Treaty of Prairie du Chien]].[^3][^4] These figures are given as the project records them; the complaint itself should be consulted for the exact sum and acreage. ## In the at-issue record The one at-issue item in the project's record that names the Mdewakanton concerns the Treaty of Mendota.[^6] The item states that every land title in Dakota County descends from that document, which was signed within the county.[^6] The item's rationale states that the county's property record traces to the instrument and that the instrument's own terms were not performed. These are the project's statements, not the finding of a court or agency.[^6] The item lists as its anchor a May 2026 White House presidential action. The pack does not quote that document's contents, and the record shown does not establish the link between the two.[^6] The case [[Mdewakanton / Sioux half-breed descendants v. United States (Lake Pepin reservation; federal recognition)]] is pending in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.[^3] The project's case record names the instruments at issue as the 1830 Treaty of Prairie du Chien and the 1851 cessions.[^3] According to the project's validated summary, the complaint alleges three things:[^3][^4] - The Lake Pepin reservation clause was removed from the 1851 Traverse des Sioux and Mendota cessions. - The removal was made without the descendants' consent. - The plaintiffs are entitled to that land and to federal recognition. CBS Minnesota reported the announcement of the suit.[^4] Counsel is identified in the project's record as [[Erick Kaardal]].[^4] The record does not show a ruling on the merits. ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - **Treaty of Mendota, 1851:** The signers were Little Crow, Wabasha and roughly eighty other Mdewakanton and Wahpekute leaders. The U.S. commissioners were Luke Lea and Alexander Ramsey.[^2] - **2025 suit:** The plaintiffs are Mdewakanton / Sioux "half-breed" descendants of the Lake Pepin reservation, and their counsel is Erick Kaardal.[^3][^4] ### When - **August 5, 1851:** The Treaty of Mendota was signed at Pilot Knob.[^2] - **October 13, 2025:** The complaint was filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Mdewakanton* (revision 1379563302, retrieved Oct. 27, 2026) — establishes tribal identity, the Mille Lacs homeland, early history, the 1837 treaty terms, reservations, First Nations and historic divisions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mdewakanton [^2]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Treaty of Mendota* (n.d.) — establishes the signing date and place, the commissioners, the signers and the cession language. https://www.mnhs.org/usdakotawar/stories/history/treaty-mendota [^3]: U.S. Court of Federal Claims, *Complaint, Mdewakanton / Sioux half-breed descendants v. United States* (filed Oct. 13, 2025), as mirrored on turtletalk.blog — establishes the filing, the court, the plaintiffs and the 1830 and 1851 instruments relied on. https://turtletalk.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/complaint.pdf [^4]: CBS Minnesota, *Sioux descendants announce lawsuit against United States over land, recognition* (Oct. 2025) — reports the filing, the relief sought and counsel. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/sioux-descendants-announce-lawsuit-united-states-land-recognition/ [^5]: Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, *Official site* (n.d.) — establishes the community's existence and self-identification. https://shakopeedakota.org/ [^6]: The White House, *Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System* (presidential action, May 2026) — the document listed as anchor for project at-issue item AI-Dakota-089 (*Dakota Founding Instruments*, Sept. 2, 2026), which carries the Dakota County root-of-title statement. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/05/restoring-integrity-to-americas-financial-system/