Mahkato

Mahkato, or blue-green earth, is a Dakota name associated with the Blue Earth River. Near its mouth, a layer of coloured earth in the river bluffs provided pigment used by Sisseton Dakota people. The Blue Earth meets the Minnesota River at a great bend, where Dakota communities historically gathered to exchange goods and share news. The French traveller Pierre Le Sueur described the colouring of the river during his journey into the region, attributing it to earth washed from the banks.