MARCH 8, 1857

SANTEE SIOUX ATTACK SPIRIT LAKE FOR KILLING OF SIDOMINADOTAH

From March 8 through 12, 1857, a band of Santee Sioux attacked scattered Iowa frontier settlements during a severe winter. Suffering a shortage of food, the renegade chief Inkpaduta (Scarlet Point) led a party of 14 against settlements near Okoboji and Spirit lakes in the northwestern territory of Iowa, in revenge of the murder of Inkpaduta’s brother, Sidominadotah, by settler Henry Lott. The Sioux killed 35-40 settlers in their scattered holdings, took 4 young women captive and headed north. The youngest captive, Abbie Gardner, was kept a few months before being ransomed. It was the last Native American attack on settlers in Iowa. An additional catalyst for the massacre may have been that the Dakotas considered Spirit Lake a sacred dwelling place. Indians were not permitted to fish from those lakes or even place a canoe in the waters. The sight of the log cabins and fences may have been seen as an invasion of their sacred site.

Sources:

“Spirit Lake Massacre,” Britannica.  Retrieved 10/8/2023, Spirit Lake Massacre | Native Americans, Dakota War, Minnesota | Britannica

“Spirit Lake Massacre (1857),” geni.com.  Retrieved 10/8/2023, Spirit Lake Massacre (1857) (geni.com)

Photo:  C. H. Carroll, 7/1/2007.  Photo of the Cabin at the Spirit Lake memorial site. Public Domain.