Dakota people have inhabited the area of this lake – Bde Maka Ska – from time long past. In the 1820s and 1830s, the lake was the site of a Dakota village called Ȟeyáta Othúŋwe (the inland village, or village set back).  The founder of the village was Maȟpíya Wičhášta, or Cloud Man, who led his community in adopting new agricultural practices.

Dakota people later were forcibly exiled from the Bdote area to distant reservations, but have continued to visit the lake. As the Dakota people have maintained identity, language and traditions against great odds, Dakota connection to Bde Maka Ska has endured.  The restoration of a Dakota name for this place helps Bde Maka Ska be a site where everyone – including Dakota people – can feel at home today.

There are many ways to explore this place. One can explore the lens of science and investigate the natural history of the lake and surrounding area. One can focus on the human history and seek information from the people with the longest relationship. One can find literature and other arts to explore the emotions that the place engenders. And most importantly, one can visit the site and spend time listening to the water and the wind and the beings who live there to learn what they have to teach.

There are also many ways to explore this website.  Start with the major pages (Place, People, Project).  Watch video. See the sub-pages that go deeper into information.  Scroll down (on each page) and click on Resources for links to articles, websites, videos and more. Scroll down and  check out the site map found at the Website Map link at the bottom of every page.

Click on subpage, Ȟeyáta Othúŋwe, for stories of the village.  Click on Maȟpíya Wičhášta (Cloud Man) to find out more about the man and how Dakota people feel about him now. Click on subpage, Name Restoration, to learn about the meaning of the name restoration to Dakota people.