The power of place -- Oceti Sakowin and Bdote Mni Sota -- People on the land -- The Dakota way of life -- The arrival of the French -- The British take over the fur trade -- Enter the United States -- The United States come to Bdote -- African Americans at Fort Snelling -- Enslaved African Americans and the fight for freedom -- Mendota and the fur trade -- The treaties of 1837 -- Territorial transition -- The treaties of 1851 -- The sale of Fort Snelling -- Fort Snelling during the American Civil War -- The US -- Dakota War of 1862 -- The Fort Snelling concentration camp -- Removal of the Dakota, the "Pilgrims," and the punitive expeditions -- Department of Dakota -- Buffalo soldiers -- Wars of imperialism -- The Battle of Sugar Point -- Fort Snelling during World War I -- The country club of the army -- Fort Snelling during World War II -- Decommissioning of Fort Snelling -- The sacred sites at Bdote -- The creation of Historic Fort Snelling -- Genocide, resilience, and reclamation of Bdote -- Historic Fort Snelling in the twenty-first century -- Fort Snelling at Bdote -- For further reading -- Author's note.