MISSIONARIES COME TO LAC QUI PARLE Many years before white people arrived, a Wahpeton Dakota band established a village along a wide portion of the Minnesota River, today called Lac qui Parle. They hunted the prairies and valleys, and cultivated corn, beans, and squash.

Joseph Renville, an explorer and fur trader whose mother was Dakota and father was French, established a trading post nearby in 1826. The Renville family home became well known for its hospitality, and it was Renville who invited the missionaries to Lac qui Parle.

For many Dakota, the mission was their first intensive contact with Euro-American culture. As was common, the missionaries sought to impart not only Christianity, but also their culture and agriculture. Relationships were often difficult, full of misunderstandings and the inability to see the other's point of view. After the highly respected Renville died in 1846, Indian opposition to the mission grew. The missionaries left Lac qui Parle in 1854, but continued to work with the Dakota. Some 40 Indian Congregational and Presbyterian congregations in Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota today trace their roots to the Lac qui Parle Mission. TRANSLATING THE BIBLE - The missionaries had begun developing a Dakota alphabet before they arrived at Lac qui Parle. Because Renville was fluent in French and Dakota, together they began translating the Bible at Lac qui Parle. One missionary would read aloud in French, Renville would translate orally into Dakota, and other missionaries would write what they heard. Dr. Thomas Smith Williamson, who led the mission team, finished the project in 1879. RENVILLE'S “DAKOTA HYMN” - Renville translated a dozen hymns into Dakota and wrote one himself. A strong and noble hymn, it is undoubtedly the most widely known product of Lac qui Parle. “Dakota Hymn” is well known in English by its first line, “Many and Great, O God, Are Thy Things.” The traditional Dakota music in hymnals is named “Lac qui Parle”.

LAKE THAT SPEAKS -- Overlooking the beautiful “Lake That Speaks” is the site of the Lac qui Parle Mission, begun in 1835. The wooden chapel, a Work Projects Administration building, stands on the site of the original adobe structure. A walking path and interpretive signs lead visitors through the tiny area where a small group of Protestant missionary families lived. The spring where they drew their water still runs clear and cold.

Inside the chapel, exhibits describe the missionaries and their work, the Dakota people, and Joseph Renville, who linked their worlds. A primer written in Dakota is on display. Visitors can ring the church bell, echoing the sound of the original, traditionally known as the first church bell in Minnesota.

INFORMATION -- The Lac qui Parle Mission historic site is northwest of Montevideo, Minn. From Montevideo, go north on U.S. Highway 59 for 6 miles, then go west on Chippewa County Highway 13 for 2.2 miles and turn right at the corner; the mission is on the right. The chapel is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from the last Sunday in April through Labor Day. Visitors may tour the site at any time year-round.

Admission is FREE. Schedules and fees subject to change. For information, contact the Chippewa County Historical Society, P.O. Box 303, Montevideo, MN 56265; phone (320) 269-7636. The Chippewa County Historical Society operates this Minnesota Historical Society historic site.