On This Day in 1766 in Minnesota, Jonathan Carver Enters the Sacred Dakota Site of Wakan Tipi

On November 14, 1766, English explorer Jonathan Carver entered the sacred Dakota cave known as Wakan Tipi, located in present-day St. Paul, Minnesota.

Wakan Tipi, meaning "dwelling of the spirits," had long been used by Dakota people for spiritual ceremonies and burials.

Wakan tipi in 1870.Photo byMinnesota Historical Society

Carver, leading an expedition westward under orders from the British government, was one of the first Europeans to document the site.

In his journal, Carver wrote, "Came to the great stone cave called by the Naudowessies [Dakota] the House of Spirits.

This cave is doubtless a greater curiosity than my short stay and want of convenience allowed me to sufficiently explore."

Carver's brief mention of Wakan Tipi introduced the sacred site to the awareness of European settlers and later American pioneers.

Though Carver himself remained respectful in his visit, later visitors would not treat Wakan Tipi with the same restraint.

Over the next century, the natural limestone cave suffered damage and desecration at the hands of arriving settlers.

The soft rock walls, once decorated with ancient Dakota petroglyphs, were dynamited away to make room for railroad tracks in the late 19th century.

For a period the cave was used as a storage cellar by a nearby brewery.

In the early 20th century, the cave was developed as a tourist attraction, with electric lights installed and the Boy Scouts enlisted to excavate a new entrance staircase.

Boy Scouts Canoeing the Wakan Tipi in the early 20th centuryPhoto byMinnesota Historical Society

An attempt by a neighborhood group to turn Wakan Tipi into a money-making venue for white visitors was eventually abandoned, but the repeated disruptions left the sacred site damaged.

Today what remains of Wakan Tipi lies within Indian Mounds Regional Park.

Thanks to the efforts of Dakota advocates like the Lower Phalen Creek Project, the site's Native name is becoming more widely known and its history more accurately told.

Reopening of the cavePhoto byMinnesota Historical Society

Wakan Tipi has even lent its name to a new Dakota cultural center set to open in 2026.

Though Jonathan Carver could not have predicted the turmoil Wakan Tipi would face after his brief visit, his diary notation on November 14, 1766 introduced this holy place to a world that would treat it with little of the reverence accorded by its original Dakota guardians.

On future anniversaries, the date might give us all cause to reflect on how sacred sites should be honored and preserved.

Sources:

• With new name in Dakota, St. Paul nonprofit pushes Indigenous renaming forward | MPR News
• Wakan Tipi Center — Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi
• Is it Carver's Cave or Wakan Tipi? | Saint Paul Historical
• After 184 years, a home for Dakota people and culture returns to wakan tipi | MinnPost
• Wakáŋ Tipi Cave and Present Day Indian Mounds Park | Visit Saint Paul