# Wahpekute *Band of the Eastern Dakota (Santee) division of the Dakota, named in an 1851 treaty that ceded lands within present-day Minnesota.* The **Wahpekute** (Waȟpékhute, "Leaf Archers") are a band in the Santee, or Eastern Dakota, division of the [[Dakota]].[^1] They are one of four Eastern Dakota bands. The other three are the [[Mdewakanton]] (Bdewákaŋthuŋwaŋ), the Wahpeton (Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ) and the Sisseton (Sisíthuŋwaŋ). Today the Santee bands live in central [[Minnesota]], northern Iowa and the eastern Dakotas, and they have federally recognized tribes in several places.[^2] On August 5, 1851, Wahpekute and Mdewakanton leaders signed the [[Treaty of Mendota]] with United States commissioners at [[Pilot Knob]] in [[Mendota]].[^3] Under the treaty, the bands ceded "all their right, title and claim to any lands whatever" in the Territory of Minnesota and the State of Iowa.[^4] Wikipedia records that the United States' late treaty payments, combined with low food supplies, led to the [[U.S.–Dakota War]] of 1862. After the war, the Dakota were exiled from Minnesota.[^5] ## Who Wikipedia describes the Sioux nation as having three groupings: the Eastern Dakota, the Western Dakota and the Lakota. It lists the Wahpekute within the Santee division (Isáŋyathi, "knife camp").[^1] In the Dakota language, the name Dakota is glossed as "ally or friend".[^6] Dakota is a Mississippi Valley Siouan language and is closely related to Lakota. In its linguistic classification, Wikipedia places the Waȟpékhute together with the Bdewákhathuŋwaŋ in the Santee subgroup of Eastern Dakota.[^7] Its list of historical Dakota people names Inkpaduta (Scarlet Point/Red End) as a Wahpekute Dakota war chief.[^8] Wahpekute leaders were among the signers of the 1851 cession. Roughly eighty Mdewakanton and Wahpekute leaders signed alongside [[Little Crow]] (Ta-oya-te-duta) and [[Wabasha]].[^3] ## When According to Wikipedia, the Santee Dakota lived around Lake Superior before the 17th century, in what is now northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. During the 1700s, wars with the Ojibwe drove the Dakota south into southern Minnesota. In the 1800s, the Dakota signed treaties with the United States that ceded much of their Minnesota land.[^5] The Treaty of Mendota was signed on August 5, 1851.[^3] In 1862 the U.S.–Dakota War followed. At its end, the Dakota were removed from Minnesota to reservations in Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Canada. Dakota people began returning to Minnesota after 1870, and they established the state's present-day reservations.[^5] ## In the at-issue record The [[Minnesota Historical Society]] records the following details of the 1851 treaty. - **Who:** The treaty was signed by U.S. commissioners [[Luke Lea]] and [[Alexander Ramsey]]. On the Dakota side, it was signed by Little Crow, Wabasha and roughly eighty other Mdewakanton and Wahpekute leaders.[^3] - **What:** 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."[^4] - **When:** The treaty was signed on August 5, 1851.[^3] - **Where:** The signing took place at Pilot Knob in Mendota, within the boundaries of present-day Dakota County.[^3] The sources in this record do not set out the treaty's payment terms. They also do not establish whether those terms were performed. The lateness of United States treaty payments before the 1862 war is documented here only through Wikipedia's general account, which does not name a specific treaty.[^5] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Wahpekute*, "Ethnic groups" section (revision 1377114585, retrieved 27 October 2026, CC BY-SA 4.0) — the three Sioux groupings; the Wahpekute ("Leaf Archers") within the Santee division. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahpekute [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Wahpekute*, lead section (revision 1377114585, retrieved 27 October 2026) — the four Eastern Dakota bands, the name Santee, their present residence, and federally recognized tribes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahpekute [^3]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Treaty of Mendota* (n.d.) — signing on Aug. 5, 1851 at Pilot Knob; commissioners Luke Lea and Alexander Ramsey; Little Crow (Ta-oya-te-duta), Wabasha and roughly eighty other Mdewakanton and Wahpekute signers. https://www.mnhs.org/usdakotawar/stories/history/treaty-mendota [^4]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Treaty of Mendota* (n.d.) — the treaty's cession language, "all their right, title and claim to any lands whatever." https://www.mnhs.org/usdakotawar/stories/history/treaty-mendota [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Wahpekute*, "History" section (revision 1377114585, retrieved 27 October 2026) — residence around Lake Superior before the 17th century; the Ojibwe wars of the 1700s; the 1800s cessions; late treaty payments and low food supplies leading to the 1862 war; exile; return after 1870. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahpekute [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Wahpekute*, "Name" section (revision 1377114585, retrieved 27 October 2026) — meaning of the word Dakota. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahpekute [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Wahpekute*, "Language" section (revision 1377114585, retrieved 27 October 2026) — classification of Dakota and the Santee subgroup including Waȟpékhute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahpekute [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Wahpekute*, "Notable Dakota people" section (revision 1377114585, retrieved 27 October 2026) — Inkpaduta as a Wahpekute Dakota war chief. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahpekute