New Display at Mall of America Highlights Dakota Pottery Traditions
Visitors to the Mall of America can now view a collection of Dakota pottery created by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC).
Located inside the recently renovated Mystic Lake store on the mall’s second level, the display features examples of traditional Dakota pottery styles created by tribal members and tribal youth. Several of the ceramic pieces were made during a special summer pottery program for tribal youth in 2025, led by the SMSC’s Cultural Resources Department at Hoċokata Ṫi.
Ceramics became widespread in what is now known as Minnesota around 2,500 years ago, before European contact. Thanks to the region’s rich deposits of clay, Indigenous people naturally incorporated it into daily life.
Traditionally, clay was used to create vessels for storing and cooking food, transporting goods, and carrying water. Following contact with Europeans, however, the use of handmade pottery gradually declined. During the fur trade era, metal kettles became popular among many northern tribes because of their durability and effectiveness for cooking. Later, government relocation policies further disrupted traditional lifeways and contributed to the decline of pottery-making. Despite these challenges, Dakota communities including the SMSC have continued to preserve and revitalize the art of pottery.
Read more about Dakota pottery and the youth summer pottery program in issue 4 of Wiċoṡkaŋ, the magazine of the SMSC.
