Religion and Belief

Lac qui Parle Mission

Lac qui Parle Mission in Chippewa County was the leading station of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions’ work among Dakota people between 1835 and 1854. Though missionaries cited it as the most successful project of its kind among the Dakota, the mission failed in its objective to replace Dakota culture with European American lifeways. Throughout its existence Lac qui Parle was a multicultural community, where Dakota people and European Americans cooperated with each other but experienced deep divides.

Lac qui Parle Mission, 1963

Reconstructed Lac qui Parle Mission, 1963. Minnesota Historical Society photo collection (SD1La p20).

Reconstructed Lac qui Parle mission, 1945

Reconstructed Lac qui Parle mission, ca. 1945.

Group outside the reconstructed Lac qui Parle Mission

A group gathers outside the reconstructed Lac qui Parle Mission in 1942, probably for a dedication ceremony.

Gideon and Samuel Pond

Gideon and Samuel Pond, brothers and missionaries to the Dakota, ca. 1860–1870.

Reverend Moses N. Adams

Reverend Moses N. Adams, ca. 1865. Adams did missionary work at Lac qui Parle and assisted in compiling a Dakota dictionary.

Thomas Williamson with Dakota church members

Pajutazee (Yellow Medicine) Mission church members gathered in front of Thomas Williamson’s home, August 1862. Williamson is visible fourth from the left, wearing the hat.

Map of ABCFM missions to the Dakota in Minnesota

Map of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) missions among the Dakota in Minnesota. The Lac qui Parle Mission is the farthest west, along the Minnesota River. From Linda M. Clemmons, Conflicted Mission: Faith, Disputes, and Deception on the Dakota Frontier (St Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press), 37.

Paul Mazakutamani

Paul Mazakutamani, about 1858. Mazakutamani (He Shoots Medals Walking) was educated at the mission church at Lac qui Parle. P1967.3056, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas.

Reconstructed Lac qui Parle Mission

The reconstructed Lac qui Parle Mission building, 2012. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user McGhiever, September 3, 2012. CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED

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