Oheyawahi "a hill much visited"

Oheyawahi, “a hill much visited,” also now known as Wotakuye Paha, “the hill of all the relatives,” is a sacred place named by Dakota people centuries ago on the north slope overlooking the mouth of the Minnesota River, or Mdote Minisota, the center of the world for the Dakota. It has been a gathering place for Dakota, Ojibwe, and Iowa people, and a place for ceremonies and burials. Pilot Knob was the site of the signing of the Treaty of 1851, which transferred 35 million acres of Dakota land to the United States. In the winter of 1862-63, 1300 Dakota men, women, and children were confined in a fenced camp on the opposite river bank, where many died. Some were buried here.

Mendota Heights, Minnesota · United States