The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1931-05-21
Agency Recalls
Days Of 1860
About $50 Sioux Indians Still
Make Their Homes East of
Redwood Falls
PAGE FotJR
(By J. L. BROWN

(By j. 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 still cling to this
place they have known as home for
nearly three-quarters of a century or
since the coming Of 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.
eve are looking into a grave, but
We have heard that you have come
from the Great Spirit to help His
poor children" With these words the
Sioux chieftains 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 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 man who had acquired a
knowledge of their language. Hin
man was not only to act as their
spiritual guide but was also to act as
their school teacher. Since the COM
ing of Human the Sioux Indians, on
what is now known as the Birch
Coulee mission, have always had
missionary except for short time
during the uprising Of 1862.
Wakinya-Waste Good Thunder)
was the first Sioux Indian to be con-
verified to the Christian faith and was
baptized by Bishop Whipple soon af-
ter his arrival along with several
other Indians.
Upon the establishment of mission
in 1860 Bishop Whipple started active
work toward the construction of
church, the building to be erected at
the Old Agency. The structure was
never completed for the small band
of whites were forced to flee before
the melted Indians. There had been
signs of unrest, the government was
not too prompt in the regular pay
ments due on Indian land nor were
the incoming settlers too scrupulous
in securing whatever they wanted.
Those attached to the mission 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 relations be- /
tween 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, a mile and half north
west of the Old Agency. With moth
ing being done toward the construc-
tion of church Good Thunder an
nounced he would give one-fourth of
his land or 20 acres to the church if /
missionary would be sent. This
was in 1881 and upon receiving a
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 5present site of the church. The
stone, which is Of Minnesota granite
was; shaped and put in place by In