Tag Archives: Mankato

26 December 2022

Walking. Apartment.
Dakota 38+2 Memorial Ride.
Treaties – Frank Waln
Intertribal Song – Dakota Nation & Red Bull
Standing Alone – Buddy Red Bow
Reflections of Paha Sapa – Ryan Akipa
The Moon Is Shining – Indigenous
Round Dance – Dakota Nation & Mandaree Singers
Peyote Healing – Robbie Robertson, Verdell Primeaux & Johnny Mike
Thunder Horse – Kevin Locke
Lakota Forever – Brule
Many and Great – Jonsarta

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Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Louisville, Music, playlist

A prayer for the Dakota 38+2 Memorial Ride

Great Spirit,

you see them,

you accompany them,

two-legged and four-legged

making their way

from Lower Brule, SD to Mankota, MN.

They ride to remember.

They ride to honor the 38 Dakota

who were hung in Mankato in 1862

and two other Dakota, who were hung in 1864.

They ride in a spirit

of peace, understanding, and forgiveness.

May the horses and the riders

and their families and supporters

know your presence

offering strength and grace,

community and perseverance,

particularly in the cold of winter.

May their effort

touch hears and minds and spirits

across this country

and lead to repentance and repair

on the part of the dominant culture.

May it be so.

Amen.

The executions resulted from the US-Dakota War of 1862. This source is the Minnesota Historical Society. A Go Fund Me page by the Dakota 38plus2 Wokiksuye Horse Ride 2022 provides information about the ride and the history behind it, including the conflict and the establishment of the ride. It offers an opportunity to support the ride and links to a vide about the ride.

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26 December 2021 – Dakota 38+2

Walking. North East, Maryland.
Dakota 38+2 Memorial Ride
Treaties – Frank Waln
Intertribal Song – Dakota Nation & Red Bull United Tribes International
Standing Alone – Buddy Red Bow
Reflections of Paha Sapa – Bryan Akipa
The Moon Is Shining – Indigenous
Round Dance – Dakota Nation & Mandaree Singers United Tribes International
Peyote Healing – Robbie Robertson, Verdell Primeaux & Johnny Mike
Thunder Horse – Kevin Locke
Lakota Forever – Brule
Many and Great – Jon Sarta

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26 December 2020

Walking. Germantown.
Many and Great (Dakota) – Jon Sarta
Lakota Forever – Brulé
Treaties – Frank Waln
You’re A Brave One – Joanne Shenandoah
And We Can Love – Mary Youngblood
Brave Heart – Luis Cachiguango
Standing Alone – Buddy Red Bow
Thunder Horse – Kevin Locke
Peyote Healing – Robbie Robertson, Verdell Primeaux & Johnny Mike
Reflections of Paha Sapa – Bryan Akipa

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Mankato 1862

Trapdoor opens.
Short fall.
Eternity embraces.

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Dakota 38

Thanks to my friend and colleague Irv Porter who pointed me to Dakota 38, a video about the Dakota Wokiksuye Memorial Ride remembering the 38 Dakota men hung in Mankato after the U.S.-Dakota War and working for healing and reconciliation. Check it out!

See you along the Trail.

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Reconciliation Park, Mankato, MN

Driving from Estherville, Iowa (where I did a presentation for First Presbyterian Church) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (where I will meet with youth at House of Hope Presbyterian Church, meet with a group working to end human trafficking, and attend the NEXT Church Conference), I noticed a sign to Mankato. I decided to follow and see what I might see.

December 26, 1862 – in the largest mass execution in U.S. history, 38 Dakota were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota. The U.S.-Dakota war, as it is named, began in August 1862 fueled by hunger and broken promises. When the fighting ended, the Dakota people were driven from Minnesota.  392 Dakota were tried, 303 were sentenced to death, and 16 were given prison terms. President Lincoln reviewed the transcripts and reduced the number of death sentences to 39. One man received a reprieve at the last minute.

I discovered Reconciliation Park, a simple park near the Minnesota River and across from the Mankato Branch of the Blue Earth County Library. The park features a white limestone buffalo that marks the spot of the executions.

IMG_4242It includes a memorial created to resemble a leather scroll. One side bears the names of the 38 men; the other has a poem and prayer. Benches with the inscription “forgive everyone everything” surround the memorial. The memorial was dedicated in 2012 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the execution. Indian Country Today Media Network reports the dedication came at the end of “a year of lectures, discussions, exhibits, newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, concerts and commemorations in the state of Minnesota acknowledging the history of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.”

At the simple memorial, I pondered what I know and what I need to learn of past expressions of racism, oppression, and violence. I pondered contemporary manifestations of racism and oppression and yes, even violence from time to time.

And I added my silent prayer that the day might soon come, and that I might have grace and strength to work for the day, when all our relatives live in community.

See you along the trail.

 

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Events to remember

December 29, 1890 – the massacre at Wounded Knee. The band of Chief Big Foot was attacked by the 7th Cavalry. Reports indicate that between 150 and 300 Lakota were killed – many of them women and children. The shooting began either as or after the Lakota were disarmed.

December 26, 1862 – in the largest mass execution in U.S. history, 38 Dakota were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota. The U.S.-Dakota war, as it is named, began in August 1862 fueled by hunger and broken promises. When the fighting ended, the Dakota people were driven from Minnesota.  392 Dakota were tried, 303 were sentenced to death, and 16 were given prison terms. President Lincoln reviewed the transcripts and reduced the number of death sentences to 39. One man received a reprieve at the last minute.

Remember.

See you along the Trail.

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