A Minnesota River Valley Reader

This collection of essays draws on the author's decades of teaching and research conducted with students at Gustavus Adolphus College. After setting the geographical stage with a brief account of the environmental formation of the Minnesota River Valley, essays examine the lives of Native Americans living around Swan Lake in Nicollet County, the exploration of the Minnesota River Valley, and the pioneer town settlement of Traverse des Sioux. Additional essays compare early German and Swedish immigration to new Somali and Sudanese immigrants. The Reader ends on a Lite note with a look at historical beer breweries in the Valley.