The colonial “development” of the Upper Mississippi River by U.S. settlers often began with colonists simply imagining the valley in a way that aligned with colonial goals of military and industrial expansion. These imaginations were realized as writing and drawing about the land and its history (or supposed lack thereof), its present, and its future.

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Acts of colonial imagination served as a foundation for utilizing the river and its Indigenous inhabitants as resources exploited for human need, lending to environmental and social apocalypse. The colonial presence—established at the expense of Indigenous lifeways—facilitated the expansion of capitalism in the form of mills and power plants, which led to industrialization and eventually anthropogenic climate change.

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Zebulon Pike’s 1805 exploratory mission of the river from what is today St. Louis, Missouri, to what is often considered the headwaters at Itasca Lake, Minnesota, marked the start of an official U.S. presence in the valley. Soon after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, President Thomas Jefferson ordered military expeditions to explore the newly-acquired territory. General James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana Territory, selected Army First Lieutenant Zebulon Pike to lead the exploration of the Upper Mississippi River valley. Wilkinson ordered Pike to, among other objectives, “explore and report upon the Mississippi river from St. Louis to its source” and “select sites for military posts” (viii-ix). Pike would later compile his journal entries and related documents into a book, and in 1895 Elliot Coues edited Pike’s work into a more consumable narrative titled The expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike: to headwaters of the Mississippi River, through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, during the years 1805-6-7.

 

Importantly, Pike’s journal entries often directly informed correspondence to his Army superiors as he reported his observations regarding the land and suggested locations for military forts. As Pike traveled by foot and canoe up the river, his view of the landscape and its inhabitants was shaped by his mission objective. Rather than viewing the land in terms of the historic and continued Indigenous presence, Pike projected a colonial future onto the landscape as he envisioned the most advantageous military fort sites.