Saint Anthony Falls, Minneapolis, Minnesota
From Placeography
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Saint Anthony Falls aka Minirara and Owahmenah (Dakota) and Kakabikah (Ojibwe) | |
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| Location of Site: | Saint Anthony Falls Historic District |
| Neighborhood/s: | Saint Anthony Falls, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Saint Anthony Falls Historic District, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| City/locality- State/province | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| County- State/province: | Hennepin County, Minnesota |
| State/province: | Minnesota |
| Country: | United States |
Contents |
Memories and stories
Memory
Jonathan Carver, an American born explorer, traveled to the Falls in 1767. In 1976, The Minnesota Historical Society published his Journal which had only been found in the 1900's. The original is in the British Museum. This is from pages 110-111.
“The Naudowessee worship or esteem all extraordinaries in nature as gods, viz., the sun and moon, the earth in general, the greatest of rivers such as the Mississippi, the largest lakes, cataracks, mountains, rocks, or stones that by any means resemble in shape either men or beasts. They have to each of these perticular gods that preside over those extraordinaires to whom they pay homage by giving presents such as tobacco and beads and wampam. I observd at when some of them came down with me from the river St. Pierre to the Mississipi that they made a speech to the god of this water praying for good weather and good success at the same time made an offering tobacco &c. When I came to the Falls of St. Anthony one who was with me [Scha-chip-ka-ka?] who had never seen such falls before made an extraordinary address to the god of this falls, stripd himself of his wrist clasps, neck bead &c. and cast them into the cascade.
They hold that there is two superiour spirits in perpetual opposition to each other, the one being infinitly good and kind, the other they hold to be a composition of evils from which all the calamities that befalls either whole communities or individuals they imagine do proceed, and that all the misfortunes in life are in his sole power to either inflict or prevent. For this reason when any is sick or in any other trouble they pray and make use of such customs as they are use to divert the evil spirit and are fully of the opinion that offerings of tobacco &c. will mittigate his anger. They give out as a reason for this that the good spirit being unalterable so never seeks to harm any one, so that they look upon it to be labour in vain to pray to a being to do them good who they never thought would do them any hurt. However incoherent this principle may be yet I imagin’twould not be an easey matter to bring them from it.”
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