I grew up 80 miles from Mankato, MN, a place where an essential episode in U.S. history occurred which illustrated the devastating consequences of colonization, broken treaties, and cultural misunderstanding, and I never learned about it in school. Only as an adult did I begin to hear the story of The Dakota War, also known as the Sioux Uprising or the Dakota Conflict of 1862. In 2017, Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center installed a sculpture in their sculpture garden that was met with immediate backlash from the Dakota community. The piece was a gallows that the artist suggested was a commentary on capital punishment in America, it included elements of different hangings throughout history, one of them was the hanging of the 38 men from the Dakota War. This mass execution is of particular pain in Minnesota, perhaps because like most trauma, shame and horror, it is not talked about. I suggest that white people’s shame and guilt has been allowed to inform the narrative of American history. When a profund event in history is invisibilized, it does not go away, it festers.
How did I grow up within miles of such an event and not know? It begs the question for me at least, what else don’t I know? or perhaps, what have the structures of whiteness allowed me to not know? So, in an effort to disrupt the not knowing, here is a small bit of history on the Dakota War.
The Dakota War/ Sioux Uprising was a violent clash between the Dakota (Minnesota is the homeland of the Dakota people. The Annishinaabe people reside here also after a centuries long migration), and settlers in Minnesota during the American Civil War. This conflict stemmed from broken treaties, (treaties that were made in the face of insurmountable odds and deceit), and the U.S. government’s failure to meet obligations to the Dakota people.
What the Dakota people where experiencing:
- Treaty Violations: The U.S. government frequently failed to honor treaties with the Dakota, particularly regarding promised payments and provisions in exchange for land.
- Loss of Land: By the mid-1800s, the Dakota had ceded large portions of their traditional territory in Minnesota, leading to the loss of hunting grounds and food sources.
- Starvation: By 1862, the Dakota were facing severe starvation due to crop failures and the government’s delayed and inadequate distribution of annuities and food supplies.
- Tensions with Settlers: Increasing numbers of settlers encroached on Dakota lands, exacerbating tensions between the two groups.
On August 17th, 1862, after the United States failed to meet its treaty obligations with the Dakota people, several Dakota warriors raided an American settlement, killed 5 settlers and stole food. This began a period of armed conflict between some of the Dakota people, the settlers, and the US Military. The war lasted about six weeks and included battles such as the Battle of Fort Ridgely, the Battle of Birch Coulee, and the Battle of Wood Lake.
After the conflict, 303 Dakota men were convicted in hastily organized trials, often without proper defense. President Abraham Lincoln sentenced 38 men to be executed in what remains the largest mass execution in U.S. history, on December 26, 1862, in Mankato, Minnesota. Surviving Dakota were forcibly removed from Minnesota to reservations in South Dakota and Nebraska, leading to further suffering and loss of life. The war left a lasting legacy of trauma and distrust. Many Dakota communities continue to fight for recognition and justice related to the events of 1862.
Scene on Radio Episode- Little War on the Prairie
