 Following the 1837 treaty the Saint Croix Triangle , between the Saint Croix and Mississippi Rivers , had been opened to U.S. settlement . Still until the later establishment of the Minnesota Territory this triangle remained an island of " white " culture and settlement . The vast majority of the Minnesota area , though , was " Indian country " . Contemporary accounts of larger towns such as Mendota , Saint Anthony , and Saint Paul in the 1840s indicate that the majority of the population was predominantly of French and Métis ancestry . Even in these communities European culture , was not strictly dominant . Commenting on Minnesota 's culture of the 1840s , Governor Alexander Ramsey described the streets of Saint Paul saying that it was common to see " the blankets and painted faces of Indians , and the red <unk> and <unk> of French <unk> and half @-@ breeds , greatly <unk> over the less picturesque costume of the Anglo @-@ American race . " 
