Shakopee I
"[6] Shakopee, however, did not end up signing the Treaty of St. Peters, which granted the United States approximately 100,000 acres of land at the mouth of the Minnesota River, for the purposes of building a fort.
Historian Gary Clayton Anderson suggests that the two chiefs who did sign the treaty, Little Crow I and Penichon, probably had the best claims to the land which would later form the Fort Snelling military reservation.
However, Shakopee's name does not appear as a signatory to the 1816 treaty, which was signed instead by Mdewakanton chiefs such as Tatankamani (Red Wing II), Bad Hail and Penichon.
[8] Forsyth, who was generally unimpressed with the upper Mississippi River valley, was highly critical of most of the Dakota he met during his expedition.
[8]In 1823, Major Stephen Harriman Long returned to the Minnesota River on a scientific expedition, together with geologist William H. Keating, naturalist Thomas Say, and topographer James Edward Calhoun.
William H. Keating, who accompanied Long on the expedition but traveled in a separate boat, referred to Shakopee's band as "Taoapa," and wrote:The chief of this part is called Shakpa, which means six.
[1]On August 19, 1825, Chief Shakopee signed the 1825 Treaty of Prairie du Chien as "Sha-co-pe (the Sixth)" under the section marked "Sioux.
"[9] The chiefs and headmen from tribes including the Dakota Sioux, the Ojibwe, the Sauk and Meskwaki (Fox), the Menomonee, the Iowa, the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), and the Odawa gathered at Prairie du Chien.
Within months, it became clear that neither the Dakota nor the Ojibwe were willing to be governed by the boundaries established in the treaty, and the tribes quickly reverted to their previous pattern of hostilities.
[5] A total of four men were handed over to Snelling, including two warriors from Shakopee's band, and two Wahpetons from the Little Rapids of the Minnesota River.
[5] Charlotte Van Cleve, the daughter of Major Nathan Clark, was eight years old at the time of the execution at Fort Snelling.
[5] Historian Doane Robinson suggested it was possible that "Little Six, a son of Old Shakopee's," was among the warriors who fired on the encampment, but stopped short of confirming that he was executed.
In her vivid account of the execution, Charlotte Van Cleve recalls "Little Six" fondly and describes how bravely he ran a gauntlet manned by the Chippewa as part of his punishment:[11] And then the last, "Little Six," whom, at a distance, we children readily recognize from his commanding height and graceful form; he is our friend, and we hope he will get home.
