[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17940-17941]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      REMEMBERING THE LIVES LOST IN THE 1862 U.S.-DAKOTA CONFLICT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KEITH ELLISON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2012

  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of those who 
lost their lives in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. This year marks the 
150th anniversary of the conflict, reminding us of this tragic era in 
Minnesota's history, and how it has shaped the lives of the Dakota 
people to this day.

[[Page 17941]]

  It is easy to consider history as a list of dates--a discovery, a 
war, a proclamation, an election. We forget the complex human 
interactions that shape the past and continue to affect our communities 
today.
  What has come to be known as the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 has its 
roots in the rapid expansion of Minnesota's population by white 
settlers, and the subsequent treatment of indigenous peoples. From 
1850-1860, the numbers of white settlers in Minnesota grew from 5,000 
to more than 170,000; in that same decade, Native Americans went from 
the majority of people in Minnesota to being outnumbered by whites 5-1. 
Treaties made between the Dakota people and the U.S. government pushed 
native communities off their ancestral lands with promises of money, 
food, and commodities. Forced assimilation policies further 
marginalized tribes by requiring the adoption of European style dress, 
hair, and culture. Tensions escalated when the government failed to pay 
promised annuities, a drought decreased the supply of food leaving many 
Dakota families hungry, and the U.S. government took back land set 
aside for Indian reservations, reducing the remaining reservation size 
drastically.
  The first violent acts of the conflict occurred on August 17, 1862, 
when four young Dakota men killed five people at a farm near Acton, 
Minnesota. These murders divided the Dakota community; some argued it 
was time to go to war with the settlers who now claimed ancestral 
Dakota land, but much of the community wanted to maintain peace. 
Nevertheless, Dakota leader Little Crow led his Nation to war, 
understanding that the greater power of the U.S. government would most 
likely prevail.
  The weeks of violence that followed in Southern Minnesota led to over 
1,000 deaths. The U.S.-Dakota war is one of the bloodiest conflicts 
between a Native tribe and the U.S. government, surpassing both the 
conflicts of Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee. The war's end was marked 
by the largest mass execution in U.S. history, when 38 Dakota men were 
convicted in kangaroo courts and hung on December 26, 1862. Originally 
303 Dakota men were tried and sentenced to death, but President Lincoln 
personally reviewed the cases and stayed the execution of those whose 
conviction was based on questionable testimony. Two additional Dakota 
warriors were forcibly returned from Canada and hanged at Fort Snelling 
in 1865.
  Although the day of the execution stands out in history, the 
suffering of the Dakota people continued throughout the winter and into 
the coming years. Those Dakota who had surrendered to U.S. forces, many 
of whom opposed the war, were forced to march to an internment camp at 
Fort Snelling and suffer through a brutally cold winter filled with 
disease, food shortages, and assaults by soldiers and civilians alike. 
Hundreds perished over the winter, and those who survived were forcibly 
relocated to Western reservations where similar conditions led to more 
deaths. Some 6,000 displaced members of the Dakota community relocated 
to Canada and Western states and territories, and by the end of the 
decade a majority of the Dakota tribe had left its ancestral lands.
  The U.S.-Dakota War reminds us of how the events of the past continue 
to reverberate to this day. Dakota tribe members are still dispersed 
over several states and into Canada as a direct result of this 
conflict. Most unfortunate, the Dakota Expulsion Act of 1863, a federal 
law making it illegal for Dakota people to live in Minnesota, has yet 
to be repealed. In August of this year, members of the Dakota community 
took part in a walk through South Dakota to the Minnesota border, 
symbolizing the unjust forcible removal of all Dakota people from 
Minnesota in 1863.
  The healing from the War is ongoing; honoring those we lost and 
remembering our complicated past should not be limited to anniversaries 
of the conflict. We should use this year of reflection to inform a more 
inclusive view of history, an appreciation of how far we've come, and 
recognition of all we must do to continue to support our Native 
communities today.

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