Source: Scott W. Berg. 38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow,
and the Beginning of the Frontier's End (2012)
and the Beginning of the Frontier's End (2012)
The name of the territory/state of Minnesota was from a Dakota word that referred to the clarity of lake water, and it was in the Land of 10,000 Lakes that 38 Dakota warriors were hanged, which represented the largest mass execution in US History. During the Civil War, there were hostile engagements between whites and Natives, such as the Long Walk of the Navajo, the Sand Creek Massacre, and the extended campaigns against the Apache, Paiute, Shoshoni, and Arapaho. However, the first hostile engagement during the Civil War occurred in August of 1862 in southern Minnesota. The Dakota War started a sequence of events that made up the Indian Wars during/after the Civil War, culminating with Little Bighorn (1876), the Flight of
Chief Joseph (1877), the killing of Crazy Horse (1877) and Sitting Bull (1890), and the Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890).
Chief Joseph (1877), the killing of Crazy Horse (1877) and Sitting Bull (1890), and the Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890).
The people that were called "Sioux" by whites were a collection of tribes, bands, and villages loosely bound by language, custom, and kinship (the name "Sioux" was given by the long-time rivals of the Eastern Dakotas, the Ojibwe, before the word was used by whites). In 1862, the Lakota were the largest group, with over 20,000, and lived further west beyond the Missouri River to the Black Hills in the Great Plains The Western Dakota (Yankton / Yanktonais) lived between the Missouri River and the Red River of the North. The Eastern Dakota was the division most involved in the violence in Minnesota in 1862 (The four major bands of the Eastern Dakota were the Sissetons, Wahpetons, Mdewakantons, and the Wahpekutes). The ecosystem of the Eastern Dakota in Minnesota was much different than the Lakota on the Great Plains, with tallgrass prairie, woodlands, rich black soil, and rivers/lakes . . . and the whites in Minnesota deeply resented the presence of the Dakota on lands they coveted.
18 August 1862: Chief Little Crow was 52 years old, and his influence had been waning among the people of his village and tribe (just a few days before, Little Crow had been stripped of his powers as tribal speaker). Little Crow had seen more of the U.S. than any other living Dakota, traveling far to the West and as far East as Washington, D.C., where he met with Presidents and Cabinet members. Little Crow had survived two bouts of smallpox, and had negotiated treaties ceding millions of acres of Dakota land in exchange for annuities (cash payments); the Dakota were dependent on the federal government since the fox/beaver populations had thinned out to next-to-nothing.
In 1845 Little Crow returned from his travels west to take over leadership of his tribe, since his father (also named Little Crow) had died; the village was on the Mississippi River across from what would become St. Paul. Little Crow was a Mdewakanton Dakota, and his warriors on this day were very agitated, and the tensions with area whites was very high. Little Crow was informed of the "Egg Incident" of the previous day: the version the warriors told Little Crow was that they had asked for some food/drink from a white farmer 80 miles from their village on the southern banks of the Minnesota River. The warriors claimed that they had been wrongly accused of stealing eggs and of being cowards, and that they were dared to shoot their weapons by whites.
In 1845 Little Crow returned from his travels west to take over leadership of his tribe, since his father (also named Little Crow) had died; the village was on the Mississippi River across from what would become St. Paul. Little Crow was a Mdewakanton Dakota, and his warriors on this day were very agitated, and the tensions with area whites was very high. Little Crow was informed of the "Egg Incident" of the previous day: the version the warriors told Little Crow was that they had asked for some food/drink from a white farmer 80 miles from their village on the southern banks of the Minnesota River. The warriors claimed that they had been wrongly accused of stealing eggs and of being cowards, and that they were dared to shoot their weapons by whites.
Whatever the true cause, in the end 3 white men, a white woman, and a 15 year old girl were killed. Other whites raced away to raise the alarm, and the 4 Dakota warriors ran in the opposite direction, stealing a wagon and a team of horses. Adding to the tension were the missing annuities from the federal government (a financial casualty of the Civil War), dishonest white traders, Dakota women being raped by whites, and the ever-vanishing land with more restrictive boundaries. Many Dakota warriors were ready to take revenge on a system that was rigged against them.
Little Crow listened to what the warriors said, saying nothing. Little Crow knew it was impossible to turn back the tide of the advancing white population, since like Red Cloud he had seen with his own eyes the reality of what was coming from the East. Little Crow also knew that the killings near Acton, MN would not go unpunished, in that the Dakota as a whole would be held responsible for the actions of a few. Little Crow, far more than the other Dakota, knew that his people and the whites in Minnesota could no longer pretend to peacefully coexist.
Little Crow listened to what the warriors said, saying nothing. Little Crow knew it was impossible to turn back the tide of the advancing white population, since like Red Cloud he had seen with his own eyes the reality of what was coming from the East. Little Crow also knew that the killings near Acton, MN would not go unpunished, in that the Dakota as a whole would be held responsible for the actions of a few. Little Crow, far more than the other Dakota, knew that his people and the whites in Minnesota could no longer pretend to peacefully coexist.
Minnesota had only been a state since 1858, and the feeling of Manifest Destiny was overflowing among the state's whites. In addition to the missing annuity payments, Little Crow and his people were denied credit by the white traders, and while crops were plentiful in the fields, harvest was months away, and game was scarce. Little Crow's people were in a bad situation; the promised annuities weren't coming, and white citizens in southern Minnesota were at the highest level of hostility towards the Dakota.
Little Crow scolded the 4 warriors for their decision-making and impulsiveness . . . and for their intoxication. Little Crow stated that the murder of the women in particular was bad news for the Dakota, in that an onslaught of great magnitude was coming that the Dakota would not be able to withstand. The delayed annuity payments would never arrive, and what was left of Dakota lands would be lost to the whites; they would be forced west to unknown lands. One of the enraged Dakota warriors shouted out that Little Crow was a coward.
Little Crow scolded the 4 warriors for their decision-making and impulsiveness . . . and for their intoxication. Little Crow stated that the murder of the women in particular was bad news for the Dakota, in that an onslaught of great magnitude was coming that the Dakota would not be able to withstand. The delayed annuity payments would never arrive, and what was left of Dakota lands would be lost to the whites; they would be forced west to unknown lands. One of the enraged Dakota warriors shouted out that Little Crow was a coward.
After being called a coward, Little Crow jumped up and took the insulting warrior's feathers and threw them to the ground, berating all those present. Little Crow reminded his tribe of the past, and he also told them that he wasn't a fool, either. Little Crow continued, saying that the warriors had no chance against the whites, even with the war to the South taking so much of their attention, men, and resources. Little Crow, however, closed by saying he was ready to die with his people in the coming onslaught.
Little Crow was in the middle of the spectrum compared to the hot-headed warriors who wanted war, and the Peace Chiefs (who were older than Little Crow). The consensus of the council was to go to war, and woe to any Dakota that didn't join in the fight. War parties were immediately formed to go into the night and kill whites. As for Little Crow, in his mind, he had chosen Death With Honor, not war . . .
Little Crow was in the middle of the spectrum compared to the hot-headed warriors who wanted war, and the Peace Chiefs (who were older than Little Crow). The consensus of the council was to go to war, and woe to any Dakota that didn't join in the fight. War parties were immediately formed to go into the night and kill whites. As for Little Crow, in his mind, he had chosen Death With Honor, not war . . .
. . . the Dakota War Continues, and the Reaction
of the Governor of Minnesota . . .
of the Governor of Minnesota . . .