Traverse des Sioux

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Oiyuwege, meaning "the place of crossing." French explorers called it Traverse des Sioux, or "crossing place of the Sioux." For centuries, a crossroads and meeting place for people of many cultures. First, the American Indians gathered to hunt and traverse the river using the shallow crossing. During the 1800s, they were joined by Europeans who came to trade furs and farm. In 1851, the U.S. government signed a treaty with the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of the Dakota Indians at this location.