Joseph Renville facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joseph Renville
Born	Joseph Renville 1779 Kaposia village
Died	March 18, 1846 Minnesota
Nationality	French Canadian and Dakota Sioux descent
Citizenship	American (naturalized)
Spouse(s)	Mary Tokanne Renville (1789–1840)

Joseph Renville (1779–1846) was a very important person in early Minnesota history. He worked as an interpreter and translator. He also guided expeditions and was a captain in the War of 1812.

Renville helped start the Columbia Fur Company. He played a key role in dealings between white settlers and the Dakota (Sioux) Indians. He also helped translate Christian religious books into the Dakota language. A hymnal he helped create, Dakota dowanpi kin, was published in Boston in 1842. Its updated version, Dakota Odowan, is still used today.

Joseph Renville's father was a French Canadian fur trader. His mother was a relative of the Mdewakanton Dakota chief Little Crow. Joseph's wife, Mary Tokanne Renville, was also a relative of the Little Crow family. She was one of the first Dakota people to become Christian.

The town of Renville, Minnesota, is named after Joseph Renville. So are Renville County, Minnesota and Renville County, North Dakota. A street in Detroit, Michigan, also carries his name.

Joseph Renville's Adventures

Joseph Renville was a man of many talents. He explored new lands and fought in wars.

Exploring with Zebulon Pike

In 1805, the U.S. government asked Renville to be an interpreter. He joined officer Zebulon Pike on an expedition. They explored the northern parts of the Louisiana Purchase.

Fighting in the War of 1812

During the War of 1812, Renville became a captain. He led a group of Dakota warriors for the British army. He fought in important battles like the Siege of Fort Meigs in 1813. He also fought at the Siege of Prairie du Chien in 1814. After the war, he lived in Canada for a short time.

Guiding Stephen Long's Expedition

In 1823, Renville guided another U.S. expedition. This trip was led by Major Stephen Harriman Long. They traveled to the Red River of the North.

Joseph Renville and the Fur Trade

Joseph Renville came from a family of French Canadian fur traders. His ancestors were voyageurs in the North American fur trade.

Starting in the Fur Trade

Joseph began his own career as a fur trader. Before the War of 1812, he worked for a British fur company. He was a "coureur des bois", which means a woods runner.

Forming the Columbia Fur Company

After the war, Renville worked for the Hudson's Bay Company. He later became an American citizen. This allowed him to keep his trading post in the U.S.

Then, Joseph Renville started his own company. It was called the Columbia Fur Company. He formed it with other traders. Their company was very successful. It even caused problems for their rival, the American Fur Company.

In 1827, the American Fur Company bought out Renville's company. But they kept his traders. Renville then worked with Henry Hastings Sibley. Sibley managed the American Fur Company in the upper Mississippi Valley.

Renville's Home at Lac qui Parle

In 1826, Joseph Renville settled in Lac qui Parle, Minnesota. He built a stockade there. He also set up a soldiers' lodge. He continued his work as a fur trader.

The Soldiers' Lodge

Renville organized a permanent soldiers' lodge in 1830. It was called an akacita. His younger brother Victor Renville led this group. They controlled hunts and protected hunters. They kept other tribes from taking their hunting grounds.

In 1832, Victor Renville was killed by Ojibwe warriors. Joseph Renville then organized war parties to get revenge. This led to a large conflict in the area. U.S. officials became worried about Renville's power.

Mission and School at Lac qui Parle

In 1835, a missionary named Thomas Smith Williamson came to Lac qui Parle. He wanted to set up a mission. Renville welcomed the missionaries. He agreed if they would also teach his children in a school.

Learning and Faith

Another missionary, Stephen Return Riggs, arrived in 1837. Other missionaries, Gideon Hollister Pond and Samuel William Pond, helped create the Dakota alphabet.

In the early years, the missionaries used Renville's soldiers' lodge as a church. Joseph and Mary Renville became Protestants in 1836. Many of their family members also joined the church.

The mission had less success converting Dakota men. This was because missionaries required them to reject polygamy. However, some men did attend church and school. One was Taoyatetuda, who later became Chief Little Crow.

Translating the Bible into Dakota

Joseph Renville and the missionaries worked together. They translated parts of The Bible into the Dakota language. Renville used his old French Bible for the translations. It was printed in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1588.

Stephen Riggs described their translation process. Renville would sit in his room by a warm fire. Dr. Williamson, Mr. Pond, and Riggs would sit at a table. Dr. Williamson would read a verse from the French Bible. Renville would then say it in Dakota. The others would write it down. They finished the Gospel of Mark that winter.

In 1836, Renville hired a clerk named Eugene Gauss. Gauss was a religious man who wanted to be a missionary. He helped with the Bible translation. Eugene Gauss was the son of a famous mathematician, Carl Friedrich Gauss.

Dakota Hymns and Music

Joseph Renville also helped create hymns in the Dakota language. Three hymn tunes in Dakota Odowan are called Dakota Native Airs. Their names are LACQUIPARLE, LA FRAMBOISE, and RENVILLE.

Many people believe Joseph Renville composed these three hymn tunes. He definitely wrote the Dakota words for them. The tune LACQUIPARLE is very well-known today. It is probably the most famous American Indian melody in the world.

The hymn tune RENVILLE has also been used in modern hymnals. It is sung by many Christian groups today.

Renville Family Legacy

The Renville family was very important in the upper Mississippi region. They were known as a leading French-Sioux family in the 1800s.

Educating the Children

Joseph and Mary Renville wanted their eight children to learn. They taught them to read and write in both Dakota and English. Many of their children continued to work in fur trading. They also helped preserve the Dakota language, history, and culture.

Their four daughters studied English at the mission school. Their oldest daughter, Angelique Agathe Renville, married a fur trader. Their son, Michel Renville, wrote down Dakota legends. These stories were later translated into English.

Their youngest daughter, Marguerite Renville, taught at the mission school in Kaposia. Their youngest son, Rev. John Baptiste Renville, became the first Dakota pastor. He translated a school text for Dakota children. He served as a pastor for 30 years.

Helping Gabriel Renville

Joseph Renville also helped raise his nephew, Gabriel Renville. This was after Gabriel's father, Victor Renville, was killed. Gabriel Renville later became a leader during the Dakota War of 1862. He then became Chief of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Sioux Tribe. He helped create the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation.

Clearing Up Confusion

There has been some confusion about Joseph Renville's family history. Joseph Renville of Lac qui Parle had a father, son, and grandson also named Joseph. This has sometimes made it hard for historians to keep them straight.

Another source of confusion is Akipa. He was a full-blood Dakota man. He greatly admired Joseph Renville. So, he adopted Renville's English name as a tribute. Some people have mistakenly thought they were the same person.

However, Joseph Renville of Lac qui Parle and Akipa were related indirectly. Akipa married Winona Crawford, who was Joseph's brother Victor's widow. This made Joseph Akipa Renville the stepfather of Joseph Renville's nephew, Gabriel.

Years after Joseph Renville's death in 1846, Joseph Akipa Renville (c.1810-1891) became well-known. He helped rescue a family during the Dakota War of 1862.