Stephen Return Riggs
Encyclopedia
Stephen Return Riggs was a Christian missionary and linguist who lived and worked among the Dakota Indians.
Riggs was born in Steubenville, Ohio
. His career among the Dakota began in 1837 at Lac qui Parle
in what is now Minnesota
, where there was a mission. He worked among the Dakota Sioux for the remainder of his life, producing a grammar and dictionary and a translation of the New Testament
In his autobiography Mary and I or Forty Years with the Sioux, Riggs describes his life. He died in Beloit
, Wisconsin
.
Riggs was born in Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. His career among the Dakota began in 1837 at Lac qui Parle
Lac qui Parle
Lac qui Parle is a reservoir located in western Minnesota, United States, which was formed by the damming of the Minnesota River. The dam was built by the Works Progress Administration . Lac qui Parle is a French translation of the native Dakota name, meaning "lake which speaks".The northernmost...
in what is now Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, where there was a mission. He worked among the Dakota Sioux for the remainder of his life, producing a grammar and dictionary and a translation of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
In his autobiography Mary and I or Forty Years with the Sioux, Riggs describes his life. He died in Beloit
Beloit
Beloit generally refers to Beloit, Wisconsin, a city in Rock County. Other uses of "Beloit" include:-Places:United States*Beloit, Alabama*Beloit, Iowa*Beloit, Kansas*Beloit, Ohio*Beloit , Wisconsin, adjacent to the city of Beloit...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
Selected works
- 1852 A Grammar and Dictionary of the Dakota Language
- 1871 Dakota wowapi wakan kin. The New Testament, in the Dakota language
- 1880 Mary and I or Forty Years with the Sioux