Sleepy Eye Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB

Experience Sleepy Eye this holiday season!

Chief Sleepy Eye

Ishtakhaba (Dakota: Ištáȟba), a.k.a. Chief Sleepy Eye, was a Native American chief of the Sisseton Dakota tribe. He was chief sometime between 1822 and 1825, receiving a commission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs as chief in 1824, and remained chief until his death in 1860.
Ishtakhaba tried to promote peace with whites in and around the state of Minnesota. He was a signer of at least four treaties with the United States government, including the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, and met with President James Monroe in Washington, D.C. in 1824. Chief Sleepy Eyes was known for his friendships with "explorers, traders, missionaries and government officials".