Bdóte, the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, has been a site of incalculable spiritual, cultural, and historical significance to the Dakota people for centuries. However, today this sacred landscape is contained within an area officially known as the Unorganized Territory of Fort Snelling. So how, exactly, did the area of Bdóte come to be claimed by the US government?

It’s a story that has been told many times quite simply, but the truth is far more messy and complicated.

Join us as we unpack the tangled and controversial history of this site. In this part one of two, we’ll explore the larger context needed to make sense of this event, and then learn how a rogue army general’s traitorous conspiracy to sell half of the United States to the Spanish government inadvertently set into motion the sequence of events that would eventually lead to the establishment of Fort Snelling. Then, in our next episode, we’ll take a close look at the signing of an 1805 treaty that remains the basis for the government’s land claims, and follow the consequences of this event all the way up to the present day.

It's a truly international and cross-cultural story, spanning centuries, with surprising twists and turns, and it is at the very foundation of all Minnesota history as it has unfolded for the past two hundred years.

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Maps!

This is an episode that involves a lot of geography, so if you're someone who benefits from maps, here are a few that may be of some use.