In my novel, Reclaiming Mni Sota, I’ve created an alternate history that has Dakota and Ojibwe forces join forces to defeat the US Army. In reality, we know that’s not what happened. But was that a possibility? Read this blog post to find out.
In “The River Remembers” by Linda Ulleseit, we meet three women whose voices have been lost to history. Here, in one of Minnesota’s most vibrant historical eras, those voices are brought to life.
George Bonga was an Afro-Indigenous fur trader who was born near Fond-du-Lac around 1802. Sources differ regarding the date of his death. But why, and when did George Bonga actually die? The reason for the varying reports on the date of his death provide an important lesson.
In August of 1862, Minnesota was shook by war. After years of oppression and genocidal policies, a faction of Dakota soldiers retaliated by attacking, killing, and taking captive several hundred noncombatant U.S. citizens living throughout south and southwestern Minnesota. The attacks, which have become known as the U.S. – Dakota War of 1862, lasted…
In 1837 the Dakota people signed a treaty ceding their lands on the east side of the Mississippi River. Before this treaty was even ratified, individual traders, mostly whiskey sellers, began staking claims along the east side of the Mississippi River near Fort Snelling and Mendota. One such claim was made by a Canadian…
August 18th marks the anniversary of an important, but often overlooked, conflict between Mdewakanton Dakota and United States settlers. The result was the largest mass execution in United States history. Many Minnesotans are unfamiliar with a war that took place right here within their state. But this war was actually an important watershed…