The History of the Land Within the Iowa Great Lakes
The Sioux Indians primarily used the land of the Iowa Great Lakes; mostly for hunting ground, and temporary encampment. The first settlers came in 1856; the primary reason they came,besides the land, was for the abundant amount of fishing available. On March 8th, 1857, tragedy struck and one of the most violent conflicts between the European Settlers, and the Native Americans occurred. This tragedy today is known as The Spirit Lake Massacre. During the massacre a band of Dakota Indians killed 33 pioneers, and abducted 4 women including Abbie Gardner. Today the Abbie Gardner Cabin is located in Okoboji, IA, and is a historic landmark. The original artifacts that belonged to the Gardner family have been transferred to local museums to be preserved.
When pioneers first settled in the region, the Iowa Great Lakes was known wholly as Spirit Lake. An important task of early settlers was learning and naming the different lakes. Spirit Lake was well known in the area as Minnewaukon, which meant "spirit water." Dakota Indians believed the body of water was guarded by evil spirits. No Indian canoes were ever found in the vicinity of this lake by early settlers. It was believed they were afraid to cross it due to the evil spirits. Little Spirit Lake is located Northwest of Big Spirit Lake. It is known as the IA/MN border lake because it lies within both states. West Okoboji Lake is the largest of the five connecting lakes. It has a maximum depth of 136 feet. It is 1 of the 3 total blue water lakes in the world; over 47 species of fish live within it. West Okoboji was called Minnetonka by the Dakotah Indians. It was later named Okoboozhy by early settlers due to Minnesota already having a lake named Minnetonka. Okoboozhy is now known as Okoboji. Okoboji itself was said to mean "Place of Rest"; others may argue that the Dakota translation meant "and there were others." Either way one may look at it, the Iowa Great Lakes is full of history and a even a little mystery.