In the late summer of 1862, a war raged across southern Minnesota between Dakota warriors, the U.S. military, and immigrant settlers. In the end, hundreds were dead, and thousands more would lose their homes forever. The day after Christmas, 1862, thirty-eight Dakota men were hanged in Mankato by order of Abraham Lincoln. It remains the largest mass execution in United States history. The bloodshed and its aftermath left deep wounds that have yet to heal.
The traveling exhibit, Commemorating Controversy: The Dakota – U.S. War of 1862, was produced by Gustavus Adolphus College students, in conjunction with the Nicollet County Historical Society. Twelve panels explore the war’s causes, voices, events, and long-lasting consequences.
The project was funded by Gustavus Adolphus College, Nicollet County Historical Society, Minnesota Humanities Center, Minnesota Historical Society, and the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
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No single display, person, book, or site can tell the whole story of 1851 or 1862. These panels left us with much more information than we could possibly include. We hope that this exhibit answers many questions, but also encourages you to learn more. Please use this list as a starting point for that exploration.
Recommended Reading
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Kinsmen of Another Kind — Gary Clayton Anderson
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Through Dakota Eyes — Gary Clayton Anderson and Alan Woolworth
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The Dakota War of 1862: Minnesota’s Other Civil War — Kenneth Carley
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The Relentless Business of Treaties: How Indigenous Land Became U.S. Property — Martin Case
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Waterlily — Ella Deloria
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The Soul of the Indian — Charles Eastman
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Dakota Women’s Work — Colette Hyman
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Night Birds — Thomas Maltman
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The Dakota Indian Internment at Fort Snelling — Corinne Marz
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History of the Santee Sioux — Roy Meyer
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Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861–1865 — Minnesota Board of Commissioners on Publication of History of Minnesota in Civil and Indian Wars
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Lincoln and the Indians: Civil War Policy and Politics — David Nichols
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Over the Earth I Come: The Great Sioux Uprising of 1862 — Duane Schultz
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Six Weeks in the Sioux Tepees: A Narrative of Indian Captivity — Sarah Wakefield
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What Does Justice Look Like? — Waziyatawin
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Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life — Diane Wilson
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North Country: The Making of Minnesota — Mary Lethert Wingerd
Historic Sites and Museums to Visit
Explore historic sites, museums, and cultural centers throughout Minnesota to learn more about the events, causes, and lasting impact of the U.S.–Dakota War of 1862.
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Acton Monument — Near Grove City, MN
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Birch Coulee Battlefield — Morton, MN
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Blue Earth County Historical Society — Mankato, MN
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Brown County Historical Society — New Ulm, MN
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Fort Ridgely Historic Site — Near Fairfax, MN
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Historic Fort Snelling — St. Paul, MN
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Hoċokata Ṫi Cultural Center — Shakopee, MN
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Jeffers Petroglyphs — Near Comfrey, MN
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Lac qui Parle Mission — Near Montevideo, MN
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Lower Sioux Agency — Morton, MN
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Nicollet County Historical Society – Treaty Site History Center — St. Peter, MN
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Oheyawahe (Pilot Knob) — Mendota Heights, MN
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Reconciliation Park — Mankato, MN
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Traverse des Sioux — St. Peter, MN
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Wood Lake Battlefield — Near Echo, MN
Primary Sources
There’s no better way to learn about history than from witnesses or participants to the events themselves. The U.S. Library of Congress currently makes over 9 million original items accessible online at: http://www.memory.loc.gov.
There, you can find many important documents from the Dakota-U.S. War. One of those is George E. H. Day’s January 1, 1862 letter to President Abraham Lincoln. Day was appointed by Congress to investigate the payment of annuities to Dakota and Ojibwe peoples in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Day found widespread corruption and graft by traders and government agents. Day warns Lincoln in the letter that a failure to address these injustices will result in “the just vengeance of heaven [to] continue to be poured out & visited upon this nation for its abuses & cruelty to the Indian.”
Online Content
- http://www.usdakotawar.org
- https://cla.umn.edu/chgs/holocaust-genocide-education/dakota-war-1862
- http://dakotawicohan.com
- http://bdotememorymap.org
- https://www.thisamericanlife.org/479/little-war-on-the-prairie
- https://youtu.be/1pX6FBSUyQI?si=xEJkH61Gny4PkKAl
Secondary Sources
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Kinsmen of Another Kind: Dakota-White Relations in the Upper Mississippi Valley, 1650–1862 — Gary Clayton Anderson. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1997.
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Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux — Gary Clayton Anderson. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1986.
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Through Dakota Eyes: Narrative Accounts of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862 — Edited by Gary Clayton Anderson and Alan R. Woolworth. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society, 1988.
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Brackett’s Battalion: Minnesota Cavalry in the Civil War and Dakota War — Kurt D. Bergemann. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004.
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The Dakota War of 1862, 2nd ed. — Kenneth Carley. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001.
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The Dakota War: The United States Army Versus the Sioux, 1862–1865 — Micheal Clodfelter. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998.
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Henry Hastings Sibley: Divided Heart — Rhoda R. Gilman. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004.
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Little Crow: Leader of the Dakota — Gwenyth Swain. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004.
