From her pristine beginnings near Lake Itasca, the Mississippi winds through Minnesota's prairies, valleys and cities. Sacred to the Dakota and a source of economic power to early Europeans, the river birthed thriving communities, though at a steep cost to sacred places and habitat. WE ARE THE RIVER: HOW THE MISSISSIPPI SHAPED MINNESOTA features Indigenous Minnesotans, historians and river stewards exploring these conflicts while celebrating this resilient waterway's signs of hope and triumph.