History & Culture

The people of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation are part of the larger Dakota First Nation that includes three Siouan-speaking culture groups: Dakota, Lakota and Nakota. About half of our more than 470 Whitecap Dakota members live on our reserve land.

Whitecap Dakota First Nation took up permanent residence in the Saskatchewan area in the 1860’s; however, Dakota people have occupied areas of Canada for centuries. Archaeological evidence indicates Siouan-speaking people have inhabited areas from Lake of the Woods to what is now southeast Saskatchewan for many generations. The Dakota were military allies of the British during the American Revolution and helped defeat the Americans in the War of 1812.

Chief Whitecap (Wapahska) led our people to the Saskatchewan area in the early 1860s to escape political turmoil in Minnesota, where we were living at the time. By the end of the 1860s, our people were hunting and camping in a territory that reached west to the Cypress Hills and north to the North Saskatchewan River.

We tried our hand at farming, but the land was very sandy and the crops poor. We then moved to our current home, where we earned a very good reputation as successful cattle producers.

We have always enjoyed good relations with our non-First Nations neighbours. In fact, Chief Whitecap guided Saskatoon founder John Lake to the place on the South Saskatchewan River that became The City of Saskatoon. During the Riel Resistance of 1885, our chief acted to protect the young community from harm. Chief Whitecap, who died in 1889, created a bond with our neighbouring communities that remains firm to this day.

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Whitecap Dakota History