The Death of the Dakota Men

5min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

In 1862, President Lincoln ordered the hanging of 303 Dakota men. The Minnesotans held off on the hangings until his office could review trial transcripts. So they waited right here at Sibley Park in Mankato: Camp Lincoln. Vengeful settlers would perch up there and shoot into the camp from a bluff across the river.

Growing up in Mankato, Minnesota, John Biewen heard next to nothing about the town’s most important historical event. In 1862, Mankato was the site of the largest mass execution in U.S. history – the hanging of 38 Dakota warriors – following one of the major wars between Plains Indians and settlers. In this documentary, originally produced for This American Life, John goes back to Minnesota to explore what happened, and why Minnesotans didn’t talk about it afterwards.

Image: The Minnesota State Seal, 1858

Key sources for this episode:

Gwen Westerman, Mni Sota MakoceMary Wingerd, North Country: The Making of Minnesota