Alexander Faribault and his family undoubtedly hold an important place in the city\u2019s historical memory. These memories are recorded in different ways, from written reports from within Minnesota\u2019s state and local historical societies, to contemporary newspaper archives, to missionary records, and court documents. Narratives we found about the Faribault family can also contradict each other, and furthermore, the family\u2019s intertwined history with the Dakota means that historic injustices manifest themselves within narratives of the Faribault family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout this digital history, we strive to make it clear which sources different narratives come from, especially when narratives about Faribault contradict. It\u2019s important to include multiple perspectives on this history. Scholar Zinaida Man\u017euch states in an article for the Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies<\/em> that scholars and museums must \u201covercome latent and unconscious assumptions about the roles of memory institutions, difficulties in reconciling conflicting perspectives about the past, and limitations in ensuring the inclusivity of all groups in engagement with the past.\u201d1<\/sup> Understanding our positionality as college students with perceived academic authority means we should retain space for different historical memories, instead of expecting community partners to accept one single \u201ccorrect\u201d narrative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For this project, we used secondary-sources and some primary sources that were available online. However, we also used primary sources that we digitized while at the Rice County Historical Society. Our digitization process was to serve our community-partners at the Rice County Historical Society (RCHS), with an understanding that the curator\u2019s and director\u2019s work serve the broader public community. Part of our process related to the organization of these documents. We used a digital file system and naming conventions in order to preserve important information about each file that we digitized and to hopefully make it easier for the team at RCHS to organize. In order to make the information as accessible and clear for a public audience as possible, we also did very simple editing on documents that were not cropped or that were not easily readable. However, when editing public heritage documents, it\u2019s important that the final product stays true to the original. As such, all edits were minor, and the original files have also been preserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re grateful for the Rice County Historical Society for providing us access to their collection, as well as for their guidance and enthusiasm for collaboration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1- Zinaida Man\u017euch, \u201cEthical Issues In Digitization Of Cultural Heritage,\u201d Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies<\/em> 4, no. 2 (2017): 13, https:\/\/elischolar.library.yale.edu\/jcas\/vol4\/iss2\/4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adams, Arthur T. Portrait of Alexander Faribault, Faribault, Minnesota<\/em>. 1929 1920. 10×8. Minnesota Historical Society. https:\/\/collection.mndigital.org\/catalog\/hchm:1553<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alexander Faribault House \u2013 Rice County Historical Society<\/em>. https:\/\/rchistory.org\/museum\/alexander-faribault-house\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bjork, Kenneth. \u201cThe Alexander Faribault House.\u201d Minnesota History<\/em>, vol. 35, no. 7, 1957, pp. 320\u201324. JSTOR<\/em>, http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/20176108<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn, and Stephen Jewett. History of Rice and Steele Counties, Minnesota<\/em>. With New York Public Library. Chicago, H. C. Cooper, Jr., 1910. http:\/\/archive.org\/details\/historyofriceste01curt<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeCarlo, Peter J. \u201cTreaty of Mendota, 1851 | MNopedia.\u201d Accessed November 24, 2025. https:\/\/www.mnhs.org\/mnopedia\/search\/index\/event\/treaty-mendota-1851<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Denial, Catherine. \u201cPelagie Faribault\u2019s Island: Property, Kinship, and the Meaning of Marriage in Dakota Country.\u201d Minnesota History<\/em>, 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flanagan, John T. \u201cBig Game Hunter, Henry H. Sibley.\u201d Minnesota History<\/em> 41, no. 5 (1969): 217\u201328.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Granquist, Luther. \u201cAn early challenge: locating deaf and blind students.\u201d Access Press – Minnesota’s Disability Community Newspaper<\/em>, 10 January 2010, https:\/\/mn.gov\/mnddc\/past\/access_press\/Access_Press_01-10.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Henry Leavenworth | The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862<\/em>. Minnesota Historical Society. <\/em>https:\/\/www.mnhs.org\/usdakotawar\/stories\/history\/henry-leavenworth<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJean-Baptiste Faribault | Minnesota Historical Society.\u201d Accessed November 22, 2025. https:\/\/www.mnhs.org\/sibley\/learn\/jean-baptiste-faribault<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Man\u017euch, Zinaida. \u201cEthical Issues In Digitization Of Cultural Heritage.\u201d Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies<\/em> 4, no. 2 (2017). https:\/\/elischolar.library.yale.edu\/jcas\/vol4\/iss2\/4<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minnesota Patriot<\/em>. \u201cNotice: Antoine Provincial, and Alexander Faribault, Attorney for Antoine Provincial.\u201d March 19, 1858. Minnesesota Historical Society Digital Newspaper Hub. https:\/\/www.mnhs.org\/newspapers\/lccn\/sn89064822\/1859-03-19\/ed-1\/seq-3<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n N., G. L. \u201cAlexander Faribault.\u201d Minnesota History<\/em> 8, no. 2 (1927): 177\u201380.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O\u2019Leary, Johanna M. Historical Sketch of the Parish of the Immaculate Conception, Faribault, Minnesota\u202f: With Some Biographical Data and Records of Pioneer Families<\/em>. With Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. [Faribault, Minn.]\u202f: Faribault Journal Press, 1938. http:\/\/archive.org\/details\/historicalsketch00olea<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RCHS. \u201c The Alexander Faribault Home The History and Restoration 1853 -1946 \u201c. Rice County Historical Society, Alexander Faribault House Preservation, https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/17XCbRvxRE3ikrg7XKBkGTjOVBya5WuWb\/view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoads and Trails in the Minnesota Triangle, 1849-60 on JSTOR.\u201d Accessed November 11, 2025. https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/20160874?seq=1<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schreier, David. \u201cPike Island: Two Dakota County Families Living on the Island a Century Apart.\u201d Dakota County History<\/em>, November 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sibley, Henry Hastings. Memoir of Jean Baptiste Faribault<\/em>. 1880. https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/9\/92\/Memoir_of_Jean_Baptiste_Faribault_%28IA_memoirofjeanbapt00siblrich%29.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steimann, Richard J. \u201cThe Wapacootas and the White Man: The Story of the Early Development of Faribault [By].\u201d St. John\u2019s University, 1971.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTreaty with the Eastern Sioux, 1820.\u201d Accessed November 20, 2025. https:\/\/treaties.okstate.edu\/treaties\/treaty-with-the-eastern-sioux-1820-22484<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unknown. \u201cDaily Globe.\u201d Minnesota Historical Society<\/em> (St. Paul, Minn.), November 23, 1880, 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unknown. \u201cMinnesota Patriot.\u201d Minnesota Historical Society<\/em> (Wabashaw, Minn.), March 19, 1859.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unknown. \u201cRice County.\u201d The Faribault Herald<\/em> (Faribault, Rice County, M.T. [Minn.]), August 6, 1857.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unknown. \u201cThe Fergus Falls Journal.\u201d Minnesota Historical Society<\/em> (The Fergus Falls, Minn.), July 16, 1874, 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unknown. \u201cThe Weekly Journal.\u201d Minnesota Historical Society<\/em> (Wabasha, Minn.), February 11, 1860, 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unknown. \u201cWinona Herald.\u201d Minnesota Historical Society<\/em> (Winona, Minn.), April 23, 1875, 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vaughan, Margaret. \u201cFaribault, Pelagie (1783\u20131847) | MNopedia.\u201d Accessed November 6, 2025. https:\/\/www3.mnhs.org\/mnopedia\/search\/index\/person\/faribault-pelagie-1783-1847<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWambditanka (Big Eagle) | The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.\u201d Accessed November 24, 2025. https:\/\/www.mnhs.org\/usdakotawar\/stories\/history\/wambditanka-big-eagle<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Westerman, Gwen. Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota<\/em>. With Bruce M. White. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho Was Alexander Faribault? \u00b7 History of Faribault \u00b7 Religions in Minnesota.\u201d Accessed November 6, 2025. https:\/\/religionsmn.carleton.edu\/exhibits\/show\/history-of-faribault\/building-a-community-together-\/who-was-alexander-faribault-<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Williams, Richard. To Ronald Wilkes. March 29, 2000. Alexander Faribault House Correspondence RE:House. Rice County Historical Society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alexander Faribault and his family undoubtedly hold an important place in the city\u2019s historical memory. These memories are recorded in different ways, from written reports from within Minnesota\u2019s state and local historical societies, to contemporary newspaper archives, to missionary records, and court documents. Narratives we found about the Faribault family can also contradict each other, and furthermore, the family\u2019s intertwined history with the Dakota means that historic injustices manifest themselves<\/p>\nSources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n