The area of and surrounding Glendalough State Park is unique. It is where the land and its inhabitants have been profoundly connected for thousands of years. Many Indigenous cultures lived here, most recently being the Dakota and Ojibwe. They established villages, cultivated gardens of corn, beans and potatoes, harvested wild rice and maple sugar, hunted, fished and gathered plants for food, medicine, tools and dwelling materials. They lived respectfully with nature, moved with the seasons and honored the gifts of the water they lived next to.

Both the Dakota and Ojibwe emphasize human partnership with the larger natural world; what we do to it, we do to ourselves. The Dakota say “mitakuye owasin” or “we are all relatives” which reveals that our connection with each other and with the land carry a responsibility to care for and respect each other along with the earth and its waters.