Today marks the anniversary of the largest mass execution of United States history. On this day in 1862, 38 Dakota POWs in the 1862 United States-Dakota War were hanged in Mankato.
The day has become one of remembrance and reconciliation. We just watched this TPT documentary about the exile of the Dakota nations from their ancestral lands following the war:
This also marks the conclusion of the annual Dakota 38 + 2 Ride from South Dakota to Mankato, a pilgrimage which focuses on reconcilation, recovery from substance abuse and remembrance.
Bring Me the News offers a review of coverage in In memory of the largest execution in US history, Dakota riders travel to Mankato.
This year's ride was mark by a detour and the accidental death of Shelly Bausch, a young woman rider from Nebraska. The detour is covered by Indian Country Today in Detour at Sisseton: Dakota 38 + 2 Offer a Spirit Horse for Community in Mourning:
Seth (Iyokpiya Kaga Sni) Eastman prepped for this year’s Dakota 38 + 2 Ride with his community deep in mourning over the November 22 mass shooting that resulted in the death of 4 Sisseton-Wahpeton tribal members and left one badly wounded. During his preparations for the ride he envisioned going to that house and taking a spirit horse there. He said he was told by Jim Miller the founder of the ride, “In the Dakota way the spirit horse will gather whatever spirit is left there.”
The Dakota 38 + 2 Ride was begun in 2005 by Jim Miller from a vision he had to commemorate and promote healing and reconciliation over the 1862 mass hanging of 38 (and later two more) Dakota men ordered by President Lincoln in Mankato, Minnesota the site of the largest mass hanging in U.S. History. The Dakota men were being executed on December 26, the day after Christmas for a Dakota uprising when the United States did not honor treaties signed with four Dakota bands giving up 35 million acres of land which left their families facing starvation. . . .
Richard Milda, who led the ride this year after Miller was injured said, “38 riders went to Sisseton because of the shooting that happened up there. The riders went there and circled the house and rode out to Old Agency and got a lot of support. We were very mindful of the people who are still grieving.”
KEYC TV in Mankato reported in Dakota 38 Memorial Rider Falls From Mule, Dies From Epilepsy:
We've learned more about what happened to a rider on the Dakota 38 Memorial Ride. Shelly Bausch's family says that while Shelly did fall from her mule and received stitches, her cause of death is from epilepsy.
And while the tragedy has hit the riders on their way to Mankato, they say they are still riding on to honor her and the 38 Dakota Indians who were hung in Mankato during the Dakota Conflict.
Shelly Bausch from Nebraska was on the memorial ride when her mule jumped, causing her to fall and hit her head.
She was treated with 15 stitches and released from the hospital, but died the next day.
Arvol Lookinghorse says, "Our prayers go out to the family. We told our riders we can't question the spirit and that we pray for everyone."
To learn more about the ride, watch the Smooth Feather documentary, "Dakota 38":
Photo: Riders in Mankato heading to the site of the 1862 execution on Friday, via the Mankato Free Press.
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