Eagles and a Chief

Hard to believe it’s only been five weeks since I was in Wabasha, Minnesota for the weekend. Harder to believe that I’ve been there multiple times over the years and always manage to drive by or walk by the National Eagle Center.  

From their website:

The National Eagle Center is a world-class interpretive center located on the banks of the Mississippi River in Wabasha, MN. We are home to non-releasable bald and golden eagles. During a visit to the National Eagle Center, you can experience these magnificent creatures up close.

The Upper Mississippi River Valley is home to hundreds of bald eagles. Many choose to build their nests in the tall trees along the river valley. Hundreds more bald eagles arrive here in the winter months, as the Mississippi River remains open around Wabasha year-round.

In 1989, we began as EagleWatch, Inc. (still our corporate legal name) as a group of volunteers sharing with visitors to Wabasha views of wintering bald eagles from an outdoor observation deck along the river. We have grown a lot since that time. In 2000, we opened year-round in a small storefront downtown and welcomed our first two Eagle Ambassadors, Harriet and Angel.

In 2007, in a partnership with the City of Wabasha, we opened this 15,000 square foot interpretive center right on the banks of the Mississippi River. From this facility, you can enjoy magnificent views of wild eagles and meet our resident Eagle Ambassadors.

I hadn’t realized that when Hubby and I actually toured the facility in 2009, it was only two years old! I really need to take another tour one of these days.

Just outside, along the Mississippi, is the statue of the city’s namesake. The chief of the area Sioux Nation, Chief Wapashaw.

As you can probably imagine, the original inhabitants of this stretch of land along the Mississippi River were eventually pushed out of the area by a series of treaties. The only good thing that came out of these very one-sided documents is that one of the treaties granted Chief Wabasha’s half-blood relatives a tract of land along the River. The remaining tribe of full-blood Sioux were forced into a reservation first in the Minnesota River area, then to the Dakota territory, and finally to a reservation in Nebraska. Such injustice towards the original people of this country.