The History I would guess that most people around the world have heard of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and many have heard of Wounded Knee, but how many, even in America have heard of the Minnesota 'Uprising' of 1862? Yet it was a very important 6 weeks in the lives of the Minnesota Dakota back then and even today. Pain does not go away so easily, and all of the things leading up to, everything that happened during and all that occured after those 6 weeks have stayed with the Dakota people. Starvation was a big factor in the hostilities, as was the Civil War. The Government. at the time were too caught up in their fighting down south to care about keeping their word to the Dakota people of Minnesota. So their annuities were late, more than once, and so their debts to the traders could not be paid, and more food could not be purchased with out money, and so the People starved. The traders back then allowed the Dakota to have a line of credit (yes even then credit was popular) knowing that the annuity would arrive and the debt would be paid. However they did add atrocious amounts of interest on those credit lines and so even when they were paid up, guess what? a new credit line had to be given because they were then short of money. You may ask well why didn't they grow their own food, surely they lived on the land, so why not? Didn't they know about agriculture? Well yes they did, in actual fact the Dakota women had been growing corn and squash for many generations in Minnesota, the men were the hunters. Then when the first white missionaries came through the area they insisted that the men should be farmers, and so showed them how to grow corn! It was confusing to the People their roles had been changed. Then of course there was the land issue, the Dakota had given up much of their land in exchange for annuities and other promises that didn't bear weight, so they didn't have the good land to grow food in, find berries and other plants that they were used to eating or to hunt on. On top of all this what they had grown for a couple of years had been eaten and destroyed by grasshoppers. They were in a very vulnerable situation, they had to rely on govt. money that didn't arrive. They knew that the warehouse was full of food and supplies but their credit lines had been cut off and so they couldn't access any of these things. Starvation grew worse. Now you might think that these Dakota were what was termed in those days, 'savages' or 'heathens', but not so. Many of them had been converted to Christianity, they went to church along with their white neighbors. Some of those white neighbors were also friends and they helped to provide food for the Dakota they knew, but I guess there were so many of them that not all could be helped, and of course not all wanted to help. Andrew Myrick, a trader, for instance said that they should 'eat grass' if they were hungry, very nasty and not helpful especially as he was one of the traders who could have helped. Little Crow the leader of the Dakota at that time was actually in church the morning the 'Uprising' began. He tried to stop the war but his words fell on deaf ears and hungry stomachs! A group of young Dakota men were walking, their stomachs growling with hunger and they came across a homestead, where they saw a chicken coop, one urged another to take an egg, then the cowardice thing came into play. 'If you don't do it you are a coward, you are afraid of the white men.' Well that was the wrong, (or the right) thing to say because eggs were stolen and with all the noise the homesteader came out along with another man and some women, being afraid and knowing they had done wrong, the young men killed them. This was the action that started the 1862 Minnesota six week war between the Dakota and those who oppressed them. I won't say whites because the Dakota actually saved a lot of whites who had helped them with food and shelter. The war was actually against starvation and oppression, those who died were both Dakota and White, Warrior and Soldier, Women, Children and Men from both sides, as you will see as this story progresses. The act started out to be a petty theft, but ended up with many people dying and the effect still living with the People to this day. These young men hurried to Little Crow and other chiefs and told what had happened. Little Crow knew this would cause trouble and tried to explain that when he was in Washington DC for treaty talks four years earlier there were more whites than stars in the sky, and that those people would be sent to kill them if they carried it any further, again the cowardice card came into play and the council of chiefs said he would be a coward if he didn't fight. He hoped that the civil war would take all the soldiers and that they wouldn't send any to Minnesota against them and so he said he wasn't a coward and war was set. The first place that was hit was the stone warehouse where they knew food was, they joined together on the road that went by there, (it is now a field but you can still hear their voices if you listen hard enough, you can still feel their pain and anger.) From there they attacked, the warehouse (which is still standing) and the other stores, they killed those they found and undoubtedly some of them were killed as well. Later a dead Andrew Myrick was found with grass stuffed in his mouth. After this area was sacked the Dakota continued attacking homesteads and farms and even Fort Ridgely which was of course fortified. Having been to the fort you can see how desperate the Dakota had to have been to use bows and arrows and rifles against the fort. The walls were made of stone, at least 12 inches thick, neither bullets or arrows would have pierced those walls. To reach the fort they would have had to climb up a hill side and then they would have had cannons firing at them as well as rifles from the soldiers behind the fortifications. This was no wooden fort. Many white women and children were taken in by various Dakota families who in the most part looked after them well, even giving them food that they needed themselves. Often they had to hide them from other Dakota who were wanting to kill the women. These women and children were eventually released at 'Camp Release' a safe haven for them. Eventually the soldiers came in and after skirmishes and battles in various places the Dakota gave up or were captured. They were given a court hearing and many condemned to death. The court transcripts are really something to read, most Dakota didn't understand english and so had to have translators, who knows what they translated, was it correct or not. Most of the Dakota because they were warriors said that yes they had fought and killed, because that was what warriors did, they protected their people, and their people were in danger, if from nothing else, starvation! To say they hadn't participated would have made them out to be a coward. So they would rather be hung than say they hadn't participated. An appeal was put before Abraham Lincoln by one of the Missionaries at the Yellow Medicine Agency, (Lower/Upper Sioux area) to spare the lives of the over 100 Dakota due to be hung. Lincoln spared all but 39, and another was spared before the hanging day, leaving 38. It is these 38 that are honored by this ride.
After the six weeks of fighting and haggling from both sides, the
Dakota were captured or gave themselves up and were imprisoned.
The women, children and elders were force marched to Fort Snelling,
in November. Those of you who know Minnesota weather are probably
saying, 'No!' but yes, they were. Some were put on wagons but most
walked, some died on the way from exposure, hunger, and attacks
from the angry people in various towns they had to walk through.
If you would like to know more about this part of the 1862 history,
that isn't something that is known or spoken about, please go to
the following site, that is from the Women's march group http://dragonflydezignz.50megs.com/dakota-march/index.html
The men were taken to Mankato and imprisoned there until the executions and there they found out their fate. Were they to be hung or not? Chaske a respected man who had saved Sarah Wakefield and her family was assured that he would be safe because of the way they had cared for Mrs Wakefield, however when it came to the actual hanging names were called and the men stepped forward, Chaske being one of them. The real Chaske stayed back and allowed the innocent man to be hung. Sarah Wakefield was astounded when she heard and contacted the government, missionaries and dignities, only to be told that it was basically one of those things. (When President Clinton's term of office was up I and another woman asked him for a pardon for Chaske, we didn't get it, so he still needs pardoning, maybe we can ask Obama for one for him.) Another man who was hung was a white man. The story goes that two women one day found this small boy by a stream, he was white they were Dakota, he was about 4 at the time. Where he came from they never found out, but one of them took him in and cared for him and eventually he was like a son to them, he became a Dakota and was involved in the fighting. The military didn't know he was white, and so they hung him. I have heard this story from the Dakota, they said at the time that the military didn't know they killed one of their own. A list of the names of the executed men will appear on here later. The day they were to be hung the death song sounded from the prisoners jail, they continued it until they were on the scaffold. They were ready to die, it was a good day for them.
"SAINT PAUL, December 27, 1862. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have the honor to inform you that the thirty-eight Indians and half-breeds ordered by you for execution were hung yesterday at Mankato at 10 a.m. Everything went off quietly and the other prisoners are well secured. Respectfully, H. H. SIBLEY, Brigadier-General."
The names of those executed were as follows: Little Crow (Ta-oya-te-duta) was discovered by accident July 3 1863 and shot to death by a white farmer who was paid over $500 for his body that was then mutilated and displayed for over 100 years. His body was eventually discovered in 1971 and buried in Flandreau, SD. The ceremony was performed by Galen Drapeau Sr. Two chiefs, Shakopee (Little Six) and Medicine Bottle were pursued into Canada, captured and kidnapped back to the States. On November 11 1865 they were hung in Fort Snelling... These are the +2.
In 1995 - 1997 Chuck and I were members of The Gathering of Kinship Committee. The group was started to heal the wounds of the 1862 heartache, from both sides. In 1997 we had decided to allow people to carry the names of the 38 plus 3 (Little Crow was the third person) for the following year, so that they could have the mourning process done for them. Dakota people back then would honour the dead for a year, a wife would carry a bundle of her husbands things with her, she would talk to it, put food out for it and she would put it in his seating place and sleeping place, as if it were him, she would not wear new clothes, or dance, nor socialize. After a year she would return the bundle to his relatives and they would provide her with new clothes to begin her life again. I guess it was a good way to get used to the loved one not being around, it was a custom and so she could do it in a way that was acceptable to everyone. Nowadays we are told to 'get over it' in many cases, we are not allowed to mourn our dead, for as long as they were allowed to. Of course when the men were hung in Mankato they had no one to mourn for them as their wives and family were imprisoned and were having a hard enough time just to survive. They needed to be mourned and their Spirits put to rest. So I asked Galan Drapeau Sr, the man who buried Little Crow if he would do a ceremony for these men, and he said yes. The committee made up leather name tags for each man and they would be given to people in place of the bundle. We hoped to get actual descendants to take them home but that was hard to do and so only a few in the end were taken by family members. Anyway the day came for the ceremony it was to be done at Birch Coulee, during the memorial powwow that was on for 2 days. We gathered together in the sun around Galen while he took every one of those name tags and did a ceremony with them. It was amazing. people just stood quietly and watched him (and another spiritual leader) do their spiritual work. Then the names were given out to the people. The one thing that came from that day was the amount of people (including myself) who saw the spirit lights in the trees circling us. they were just flashing off and on all over those trees, but of course we knew not to say anything that would disturb the spiritual men while they worked. I don't know if they saw those lights but I know many of us did. Those spirits were watching as well, as enthralled as we all were, while the men did their wonderful work. It was a great honour to be there and to be a part of that committee. Baine Wilson who was the man who was the founder of the group has gone now, his wife Lillian became a good friend, as did most of that group. We had a spiritual link to each other. (The day that we did the ceremony, was the same day that Princess Diana died. The following day everyone at the powwow did an honor dance for her, probably the first honoring for her in the world.) I went back to England a few weeks afterwards, and so never got to see the name tags bought back the following year. I know all of them were not returned, I have heard of one that is worn on regalia as a continuing honoring to that man.
I do know that a lot of Dakota people died on the way to Crow Creek, those who were weak from the awful winter they had just survived at Fort Snelling, the elderly and the young. I can guess that some died when they got to Crow Creek as well because other than the weather being warmer what else did they have. They had to start again, without their men and without protection. A few years ago Chuck was invited to Crow Creek where they did a ceremony and laid a stone to remember those women who landed there. The memorial is in the middle of a Medicine Wheel on the banks of the Missouri River on the edge of the reservation. We visited there this summer, and even then a chilly wind was blowing and I pictured these poor women and children landing there, not knowing where they were or what they should do, I said prayers, gave offerings and I cried for them. In the book 'The Sioux Uprising of 1862' by Kenneth Carley, he states that the 'dismal drought striken place was soon dotted by Sioux graves'. and the following about the food that they had, or didn't have, the next winter to eat, 'The pork and flour that arrived was condemned as unfit for the soldiers to eat and 300 head of cattle became so emaciated on their 300 mile trek to the reservation. Nevertheless, the flour and meat, including entrails and other undesirable parts, were the main ingredients of a nauseous stew that was cooked in vats and ladeled out to the Dakota women. The "rotten stuff" was understandably refused by many Dakota.'
After three years at Fort Thompson, the Dakota were moved to Santee
Nebraska, where things became much better for them. I hope that this ride goes a long way to heal it, and to dispel the stereotypes from both sides. We can all remember the loss of life and lifestyle from both the Dakota side and the Settlers side. The war should never have happened, the People from both sides should have been respected by the government at the time, they should have all been cared for by Lincoln and his fellow politicians instead of being left to fend for themselves in the face of adversity. The Dakota and many of the whites who lived in the area were friends, they visited with each other, the broke bread with each other. They also prayed together all bending their knees in respect to the Creator/God. Then in a blink of an eye, because of greed, ignorance and racism that bond of friendship and trust was broken. Many of the settlers were helped by their friends, they were told to get away to safety, because more Dakota were coming in to join in this fight and they would be just another white person to them. It would not be safe. Some like John Otherday got a lot of people to safety. From the Dakota side many of them were Christian, The missionaries Riggs and Williamson had taught them about the Bible and had in fact translated the Bible into Dakota. They were taught hymns in Dakota, and even today those same hymns are sung in the Dakota language at funerals and yet these same people, these Christian Dakota, were called heathens and savages only a few days after being in Church. as I said earlier Little Crow had been in Church the morning the War began. There is a photo of a young woman, Wabasha's daughter in law, sitting by a ramshakled tipi in the Fort Snelling internment camp. She looks completely lost, she doesn't know what happened to her husband, she just knows that he isn't with her. She was one of the Christian Dakota, she is wearing a wedding ring, the same way we wear them today, she was married probably by Bishop Whipple in a church service, and yet there she is, in an internment camp because she was Dakota. Her husband was one of the men hung at Mankato. She was one of the women who couldn't mourn her husband in the traditional way or even in a Christian way because of where she was and because the date was 1862. In the Little Feather Center in Pipestone we have many of these photos on display, if you are around our way do please come in and see them. Our Center is free entrance. The
Little Feather Center closed in 2017
Thanks for your time and your support for this Ride. Prisoners
Names - 1862, |
