Listen: PKG: Dakota 38 last ride (Yang)
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MPR’s Hannah Yang profiles the Dakota 38+2 riders, as they make trip honoring ancestors. The group travel hundreds of miles on horseback to honor 38 men hanged in the largest mass execution in U.S. history. The ride also remembers the many others who died as a result of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 started when Indian agents withheld food and supplies guaranteed under treaty with the Dakota people, part of an effort to force the Dakota off their land. Hundreds died in the war that lasted a little over a month. More than 300 Dakota warriors were sentenced to death, but there was public outcry. Many religious leaders protested the executions to President Abraham Lincoln. He reviewed each case and reduced the number to 38. About 1,700 Dakota people, mostly women and children, who weren’t sentenced to death or prison were removed from Lower Agency to Fort Snelling in November 1862.

Awarded:

2022 MBJA Eric Sevareid Award, award of merit in General Reporting - Large Market Radio category

Transcripts

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SPEAKER: For what may be the last time, Dakota riders are braving bitter December weather to travel hundreds of miles on horseback. They're honoring 38 men hanged in the largest mass execution in US history after the US-Dakota War of 1862. The ride will end at the site of the hangings in Mankato on Monday, the anniversary of the executions. Hannah Yang has the story.

[NEIGHING]

HANNAH YANG: It's been a long, hard journey for the Dakota 38 plus 2 riders. They're tending to the horses, making sure they're being fed and watered at the Flandreau Indian School. This is one of the few days in their 330-mile trek that the riders get to shower and rest in an actual bed. LeAnne RedOwl has been helping with this ride for over a decade. This journey, she says, has been her life.

LEANNE REDOWL: The first thing I ever heard was every time your horse's foot hits the ground is a prayer, you know. And that's the strongest thing right there, because we're in ceremony, you know? We're doing this. We're out here with a purpose.

[NEIGHING]

HANNAH YANG: That purpose is to maintain the memory of what happened during and after the US-Dakota War of 1862. It started when Indian agents withheld food and supplies guaranteed under treaty with the Dakota people, part of an effort to force the Dakota off their land. Hundreds died in the war that lasted a little over a month.

A few months later, on December 26th, 1862, 38 Dakota men were hanged in Mankato. It was the largest single-day mass execution in US history. President Abraham Lincoln signed the death warrants.

Two more Dakota chiefs were executed two years later. Many incarcerated Dakota women and children died of cold and hunger that winter. The impacts of the trauma continue to be felt today.

In 2005, Lakota spiritual leader Jim Miller dreamed of Dakota people on horseback returning home to Minnesota. The ride became reality in 2008 with descendants of the executed men in the group. It's been repeated each December since.

Now, only four of the original riders remain, and they say this will be their last. So the ride will end. Some hope the younger riders will take over. But Josette Peltier, Miller's sister, says the ride fulfilled her brother's dream, and she's seen people change over the years.

JOSETTE PELTIER: Being on this ride has taught me so much about myself. I've healed. I've gotten a lot of healing from this ride. And I'm really grateful that my brother had this dream because had I not come on the ride, I don't think I would have been able to grasp my roots.

HANNAH YANG: Later that night, communities from all over came to a nearby senior center to show their support. There's laughter, singing, eating and reunions of old friends. Many of the riders say this is the most young people ever at the ride, and they're heartened.

Pamela Bird follows in the footsteps of her father, Sidney Bird, an elder of the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe. He'd feed the riders while telling them the story of the 38 plus 2. She hopes the younger generation learns their history from the rides.

PAMELA BYRD: It's hard to accept sometimes that what another person does to another person, you have to forgive, but it still hurts. And my dad says you need to know what the other person is feeling. You need to know the history so you won't make that mistake again.

HANNAH YANG: Then riders got word that ride founder Jim Miller was at the hospital. So they formed a circle, and held a prayer ceremony for him. Todd Finney, Jim's nephew, says they will complete the ride.

TODD FINNEY: So that even though this chapter may end, the things that he helped plant, the things that he helped do are going to just keep continuing and keep continuing.

[CHATTER]

HANNAH YANG: The next morning, beneath an open blue sky, the prairie glistens with ice and snow as the riders make their way to Pipestone National Monument. The horses circle four times before coming to a stop. LeAnne RedOwl is a direct descendant of one of the 38 Dakota men and each year drives up to help the riders along with their children. She says they grew up going on this ride.

LEANNE REDOWL: We're here to show them that we're still here. We're still making noise. We're not going anywhere. And we're proud of who we are.

HANNAH YANG: On Monday, the riders will hold their final ceremony in Mankato, but they say the message that the descendants and their culture are alive will live on forever.

[NEIGHING]

On the road to Mankato. I'm Hannah Yang, MPR News.

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