Dakota.

In 1862, Minnesota was still a young state, part of a frontier inhabited by more than one million Indians. Times were hard and Indian families hungry. When the U.S. government broke its promises, some of the Dakota Indians went to war against the white settlers. Many Dakota did not join in, choosing to aid and protect settlers instead. The fighting lasted six weeks and many people on both sides were killed or fled Minnesota. Former Minnesota governor Henry Sibley led an expedition of soldiers and Dakota scouts against the Dakota warriors. The war ended on December 26, 1862, when thirty-eight Dakota Indians were hanged in Mankato in the largest mass execution in U.S. history. Afterwards the government forced most of the remaining Dakota to leave Minnesota. For white Minnesotans, their experience of blood and terror negated all promises they had made to the Dakota. Stories and history books told about the great "Minnesota Massacre," but for many years the Indian side of the story was ignored.

Primary and secondary source documents are available the The Minnesota Historical Society.

Introduction
2012 marks 150 years since the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, a disastrous time in Minnesota's history. The war, its causes and its aftermath had a profound impact in shaping Minnesota as we know it today.



Homeland
Mni Sota, called Minnesota today, has been Dakota homeland for thousands of years.



Newcomers
European exploration and settlement of North America began in the late 1500s in the areas along the Atlantic shore, far from the Great Lakes and the interior of the continent. But Minnesota's indigenous people were encountering newcomers hundreds, even thousands, of years ago. Stories of ancient sailors crossing between distant shores and Native people traveling far and wide describe truly global connections. As time progressed, two factors--money and religion--led European people to settle on the land that would become the Americas.



Treaties
From 1778 to 1871, the United States negotiated treaties with various Indian tribes to support westward expansion. These treaties were agreements whereby Indian nations would exchange their rights to hunt and to live on parcels of land for trade goods, yearly cash payments, and the right to remain on part of their homelands. These treaties, which were almost wholly dishonored by the the U.S. government, helped set the stage for later U.S. government actions such as the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Indian nations who resisted treaty attempts found themselves facing forced removal further westward to "Indian Territories." 

Beginning in 1805, Indian nations in the area that became Minnesota made concessions of land for specific uses by the U.S. government through treaties. In exchange, they received money, goods, and various promises. 



War
For six weeks in 1862, war raged throughout southwestern Minnesota. There were many causes for the war. The war and its aftermath changed the course of the state's history and descendants of those touched by the war continue to live with the trauma it caused.



Aftermath
After the U.S.-Dakota War, Dakota faced exile from Minnesota, concentration onto reservations, pressure to assimilate, and opening of reservation land for white settlement.



Thank you, Minnesota Historical Society.

Growing up in Mankato, Minnesota, John Biewen says, nobody ever talked about the most important historical event ever to happen there: in 1862, it was the site of the largest mass execution in U.S. history. Thirty-eight Dakota Indians were hanged after a war with white settlers. John went back to Minnesota to figure out what really happened 150 years ago, and why Minnesotans didn’t talk about it much after.

Thank you, This American Life.