Indian Mounds Regional Park

Established in 1892, this 17-acre park features six ancient burial mounds, the earliest of which date between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. These mounds were created by the people of the Hopewell culture, and this is the only distinctly Hopewell site in the state of Minnesota and one of the country's northernmost examples of mounds made by the Hopewell peoples. For centuries, Native Americans buried their dead here, including the Dakota people. The mounds rest on limestone rock that is 450 million years old. Originally, there were at least 16 mounds at this location and over 50 along Dayton’s Bluff, but many have been destroyed by development over the years. The park lies above what is now Carver's Cave/ Wakáŋ Tipi Cave, which has petroglyphs documenting Dakota history at the site. The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

What is now Indian Mounds Park was once a burial ground and sacred site for the Indigenous people of the Sioux Community, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Prairie Island Indian Community, Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, and others. The communities would meet annually to bring the remains of people who passed over the winter. They built wood and stone burial chambers, sea shell beads, copper goods, and more to bury with the dead before covering with dirt to make the mounds. Underneath the mounds is Wakáŋ Tipi Cave, or The Dwelling Place of the Sacred, which was used to honor the spirits that existed within. The Indigenous community created petroglyphs on the walls of the cave, which documented traditions and history. The cave was also used as a birth site for some. The Executive Director of Wakan Tipi Center, Maggie Lorenz has said that the mounds and the cave should be considered one site. 

Once colonial settlers reached the region, they became enamored with the view of the mounds and Wakáŋ Tipi Cave. The cave specifically was found by English explorer Johnathan Carver who gave the cave the name Carver’s Cave after himself. The area received much attention from settlers due to the unique views of the mounds, the cave, and the proximity to the location around the Mississippi River. Starting in 1856, Looters, investigators, and road workers began to excavate the mounds. Seventeen of the mounds were excavated and looted by 1895, becoming destroyed in the process. Many of the artifacts and burial offerings were put in local museums at the time. 

 In 1887, the city of Saint Paul established the Park Board, and they decided they wanted to buy Dayton’s Bluff, which included the mounds. The parks board bought a 17-acre strip of land along the bluff with the mounds and opened the park soon after. It was very popular from the beginning, with many flocking to the park. The park was such a local phenomenon in 1894 that the Streetcar Railway Company opened a special line from downtown St. Paul to the park. At the turn of the century, the Park Board decided to expand the park. In recent decades, the local government and historians have done more to focus on site interpretation to include information about the indigenous peoples who created the mounds.

"Indian Mounds Regional Park." City of St. Paul. Accessed April 3, 2017. https://www.stpaul.gov/facilities/indian-mounds-regional-park.

Sigrid Arnott, Geoff Jones, & David Maki. "Indian Mounds Park Mound Group." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. April 11, 2014. https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/14000140.pdf.

Photo: McGhiever, via Wikimedia Commons

Trimble , Steve . Indian Mounds Park: A Short History, Saint Paul Historical . Accessed April 5th, 2025. https://saintpaulhistorical.com/items/show/20.

Bos, Mecca. Wakáŋ Tipi Cave and Present-Day Indian Mounds Park, Visit Saint Paul . Accessed April 5th, 2025. https://www.visitsaintpaul.com/blog/waka-tipi-cave-and-present-day-indian-mounds-park/.

Trimble , Steve. Is it Carver’s Cave or Wakan Tipi?, Saint Paul Historical. Accessed April 5th, 2025. https://saintpaulhistorical.com/items/show/8.

Nelson, Paul. Indian Mounds Park, St. Paul, MNopedia. Accessed April 5th, 2025. https://www.mnopedia.org/place/indian-mounds-park-st-paul.