Wa-na-ta (

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

: Wánataŋ which translates as ''One who charges'', or ''Charger'') or Waneta was a chief of the

Yanktonai The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...

, a tribe of the

. Chief Wa-na-ta, also known as Wanata and Wanataan I, was born around 1795. The Yanktonai were located near the St. Peter River, which is today known as the Minnesota River, in present day

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The

were said to have a population between five and six thousand individuals with 1,300 warriors. Wanata was a very influential chief, as evidenced by his ability to lead his tribes' 1,300 warriors into battle. Waneta was born about 1795 in what is now Brown County,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

. At age 18, Wanata was accustomed to the ways of war and fought under his father Wakinyanduta (''Red Thunder'') (Sisseton leader who eventually split off from that band to form the Cuthead band of the

) siding with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

against the Americans in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. He fought at the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

Fort Meigs Fort Meigs was a United States fortification along the Maumee River in what is now Perrysburg, Ohio during the War of 1812. The British Army, supported by Tecumseh's Confederacy, failed to capture the fort during the siege of Fort Meigs. It is n ...

in 1813. Wanata was recruited by British Colonel Robert Dickson, eventually his brother-in-law, whom convinced him to join him in battle at Fort Sandusky. During this battle, Wanata charged Fort Sandusky and was wounded, but earned himself the nickname "Charger". After the war, the British rewarded Waneta for his loyalty by presenting him with a captain's commission. He subsequently visited

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and remained sympathetic to the British until 1820, when an abortive expedition against Fort Snelling resulted in a change of heart. Thereafter, he gave wholehearted support to American interests and even helped influence trade on the Missouri River. A prominent chief of the Dakota people, Waneta signed a trade treaty with the Americans on 25 July 1825. On 17 August 1825 he signed the

first Treaty of Prairie du Chien The Treaty of Prairie du Chien may refer to any of several treaties made and signed in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin between the United States, representatives from the Sioux, Sac and Fox, Menominee, Ioway, Winnebago and the Anishinaabeg ( Chipp ...

which fixed the boundaries of Sioux territory. He was murdered by his own tribesmen, who were upset with his leadership, in 1848. He died at the mouth of the Warreconne River, the present Beaver Creek in what is now Emmons County,

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

Namesake

Two

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ships have been named USS ''Wahneta'' and one has been named USS ''Waneta'' in honor of Waneta. Waneta Hall, a residence hall at South Dakota State University, was named in honor of Chief Waneta in 1959. This renewed a pattern of

alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

to name buildings using words from the

Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. Lakota is mutually intelligible with the two dialects of the Dakota language, especially Western Dakota, and i ...

. Three other residence halls on the campus had earlier been named Wenona (meaning first-born daughter) Hall, (1917), Wecota (meaning second-born daughter) Hall (1919) and Wecota Annex (1940). Wenona and Wecota Halls are now used as office buildings and have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Brookings County, South Dakota. Wecota Annex has also become an office building; it was last used for housing students during the 2012-13 academic year. Waneta Hall continues to be used as a residence for students as of 2014.

Chief Wanataan II

Waneta's son was called Wanata II or Waanatan II (1828-1897). Their names are in almost every history book dealing with Minnesota and the two Dakota States. Waanatan II was born in 1828 on the Elm River (Pecan Wakpa) north of what is now

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen ( Lakota: ''Ablíla'') is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, located approximately northeast of Pierre. The city population was 28,495 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populous ci ...

. When his father was assassinated in 1848, the Pabaksa (Cut Head) band of

split into three groups, each led by a son. Waanatan II moved to

Lake Traverse Lake Traverse is the southernmost body of water in the Hudson Bay watershed of North America. It lies along the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and South Dakota. A low continental divide, part of the Laurentian Divide, separates t ...

(Bde Hdakinyan = Cross-Wise Lake) associating himself with his mother's people, the Sisitunwan Dakota. Waanatan II forbade Little Crow from crossing his lands to escape Federal troops during the Minnesota Uprising of the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...

. Suffering many hardships during the war which followed, he finally surrendered his band some five years later and resided on the Spirit Lake Reservation (Miniwakan Oyanke) in north central

. In 1885, Chief Wanata (Waanatan II) became friends

Major Israel McCreight American Horse ( lkt, Wašíčuŋ Tȟašúŋke) (a/k/a "American Horse the Younger") (1840 – December 16, 1908) was an Oglala Lakota chief, statesman, educator and historian. American Horse is notable in American history as a U.S. Army Indian S ...

and visited his office regularly to smoke tobacco. At the time, the twenty-one-year-old McCreight seeking adventure took the Northern Pacific Railway to its farthest point west, Devils Lake, North Dakota,

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...

, and met with Indians trading buffalo bones at Fort Totten,

, to be sold as fertilizer in the lucrative St. Louis market. McCreight was impressed with the chief's dignity and bearing. "One day he signed that he wished a private interview, when he drew from his blanket a package which he exhibited as something he held more precious than any other treasure. It was carefully wrapped in old newspaper, and after it had been divested of the strings and unrolled to be read, it proved to be the parchment or treaty with Government officials, his own name inscribed as head or Grand Chief. Having thus established his old-day tribal office, he carefully refolded the document, wrapped it in the faded news sheet and returned it to the inner folds of his blanket, then nimbly

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

on the office floor, filled his pipe and enjoyed his usual half-hour smoke." Wa-na-ta's smoking pipe was his most precious possession. "A titled English ranch-owner who knew of his importance in history offered any price that the old chief would name for the pipe and pouch, but the chief disdained to listen to any offer of money. But when I squatted beside him on the floor, where he was puffing meditatively on his long red-stone pipe, to tell him of leaving next week for a trip west, he arose instantly, untied his belt, laid both pouch and pipe across his left hand and extended it to me as a present and token to be preserved after he had passed to the long sleep." McCreight forever remembered the kindness and generosity of Wa-na-ta. Chief Wanataan II died in 1897 and is buried in the St. Michael Cemetery, St. Michael, ND.See Louis Garcia, "Waanatan's Tobacco Bag", Whispering Wind, Issue #270, Vol. 39, #2 (2010) at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Waanatan%27s+pipe+and+tobacco+bag.-a0229897146

References

: {{Reflist

Sources

"Chief Wanata", URL accessed 07/23/06
*Johnson, Michael, and Jonathan Smith. ''Tribes of the Sioux Nation''. Oxford: Osprey, 2000. 1795 births 1848 deaths Dakota people Native American leaders Native Americans in the War of 1812 Murdered Native American people Native American history of Minnesota People murdered in Minnesota 1848 murders in the United States