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Join the Society and receive free admission to the Gibbs Museum!

The Gibbs Museum of Pioneer and Dakotah Life represents an important period in Minnesota’s history (1835 – 1900) and tells the true story of the pioneer family of Heman and Jane Gibbs.  

In 1835 Jane DeBow (Gibbs) arrived at Fort Snelling as a child of six, and lived among Cloud Man’s band of Dakotah on the shores of Lake Calhoun in present-day Minneapolis.  Jane learned to speak Dakotah and gained an intimate knowledge of the Dakotah way of life.  The Dakotah gave her the name, Zitkadan Usa Win (Little Bird That Was Caught).  This site offers a unique look at the two cultures that Jane knew and their methods of housing, agriculture, and their family structure.

 The Dakotah lived according to the seasons.  In the summer, they lived in bark lodges and planted vegetable gardens.  In the fall, winter, and spring, they moved about as they hunted, fished, gathered wild rice, trapped, and tapped trees for syrup. 

 The Dakotah and the Gibbs Family
Each year Cloud Man’s Dakotah band, sometimes numbering as many as 150, camped on the Gibbs farm to rest and visit Jane.  Often they camped for as long as three weeks.  Many of these people were Jane’s childhood friends and appreciated Heman and Jane’s hospitality.

 As a child Jane experienced the traditional Dakotah way of living.  As an adult she watched the changes in their culture and the deterioration of their circumstances that ultimately led to the Dakotah Conflict of 1862.