The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1930-07-02
About $50 Sioux Indians Still
Make Their Homes East
of City
FIRST MEETING IN 1860
Bishop Whipple Starts Construc'
ton of Church; Halted by
Outbreak in 1862
By ]. l.. Brown


Birch Coulee mission, commonly
known as the Agency, is today the
home of $50 or more Sioux Indians.
These people with their church and
school as the center and Miss Susan
Salisbury as their leader still cling
to this place they have known as
home for nearly three-quarters OF
century or since the coming OF the
white man. The place, located about
seven miles southeast of Redwood
Falls, has seen the making of history.
1t was in 1860 that Minnesota's first
Episcopal Bishop came to meet the
Indians here and attempt to help
them.
1--WE are looking into grave, but
we have heard you have come from
the Great Spirit to help His poor
children" With these words the
Sioux chieftans expressed their trou-
bles and requested the bishop to send
them missionary. The Sioux were
Wabasha, Taopi and Good Thunder;
the bishop, Henry B. Whipple Of the
Episcopal church and the place OF
meeting, the south rim of the Mime
sofa valley almost directly across
from the present site of Morton, near
what is now known as the Old
Agency. The meeting took place In
June, 1860. At that time there were
nearly $500 of these people living in
the vicinity.
Bishop Whipple took an extreme
interest in Indian affairs and upon
returning to Faribault in the fall,
sent Samuel Human to these people
as he was a man who had acquired a
knowledge of their language. Human
was not only to act as their spiritual
guide but was also to act as their
school teacher. Since the coming OF
Human the Sioux Indians, on what
is now known as the Birch Coulee
mission, have always had mission
airy except for short time during
the uprising of 1862.
Wakinya-Wast Good Thunder)
was the first Sioux Indian to be-
come converted to the Christian faith
and was baptised by Bishop Whippie
soon after his arrival along with sew
en- other Indians.
Upon the establishment of a mis-
sion in 1860 Bishop Whipple started
active work toward the construction
of a church, the building to be erect
ed at Old Agency. The structure
was never completed for the small
band of whites was forced to flee be-
fore the melted Indians. There had
been signs of unrest, the government
was not too prompt in the regular
payments due on Indian land nor
were the incoming settlers too scrup-
ulous in securing whatever they
wanted. Those attached to the mis-
sion knew what to expect and, with
the sound of rifle firing, left their
tasks and fled to safety.
Good Thunder was sympathetic
with the Christian cause almost from
the beginning. Besides asking for a
missionary along with the other lead
ers of the tribe and being the first
to become converted he promoted
peace among his people and did all
within his power to make the rela-
tions between them and the whites
the best possible.
Following the Indian uprising OF
1862 the Indians slowly adjusted
themselves to existing conditions and
eventually most of them returned to
the reservation. The war had stopped
all construction of the church. Good
Thunder returned and bought 80
acres of land, mile and half
northwest of the Old Agency. With
nothing being done toward the con-
struction of a church Good Thunder
announced he would give one-fourth
of his land or 20 acres to the church
if a missionary would be sent. This
was in 1881 and upon receiving
promise to comply from the bishop
the Indians began work with the aid
of Bishop Whipple and removed all
of the stone from the Old Agency to
the present site of the church. The
stone, which is of Minnesota granite,
was shaped and put in place by In
dian workmen.
July Is, 1891, Bishop Whipple con-
secrated the beautiful stone church
which in many ways embodies that
something of early pioneer days and
the people who devoted their lives to
bringing civilization to the frontier.
It stands today very nearly the same
as when it was first completed. The
seats are of native pine and overhead
hangs the large hand-hewn beams
in support of the roof. The walls are
immensely thick and are finished
within with brick. Large nickeled
Kerosene lamps still furnish light but
touch of modernism has been added
Continued on Page Twelvs.)