The land Gustavus occupies was home to the Dakota people until the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux was signed in 1851. A student-curated exhibit created for the 150th anniversary of the Dakota Conflict is available in digital form, thanks to the Gustavus College & Church Archives.
Searching for information about indigenous peoples can be complicated by the politics of naming. Do catalogers use the word Sami, Sapmi, or Lapp? What about Eskimo versus Inuit? Dakota or Sioux? Ojibwe, Anisinaabe, or Chippewa? As you search, be aware that the names of groups have changed over time and subject headings or database descriptors may use a name that seems incorrect or even offensive. Read more about how our library is handling language that is potentially harmful.
The Gustavus Library is committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all our patrons. We acknowledge that harmful and outdated language or terminology exists in catalog records for our materials, though, and we would welcome your help in identifying such instances.
If you encounter any language that you consider to be harmful or offensive to yourself or others, please use this form to report it and suggest alternative language. We will contact the Library of Congress to request that changes be made whenever we come across items under their purview and will supplement our own descriptions with more respectful terms as necessary. We also direct you to our entire Harmful Language Statement for more information.