This is a solemn day in Indian Country and in indigenous communities throughout the United States. And once again, the Dakota 38+2 Wokiksuye riders have reached Mankato on the anniversary of the largest mass execution in United States history.
Last official Dakota 38+2 ride arrives Monday morning | Millennial | https://t.co/6fB9Oizm9Z https://t.co/TcF06VAEAG
— Wild Heart (@findsonesway) December 26, 2022
In the Mankato Free Press article, Brian Arola reported in 'If we stop, they'll forget again': Dakota 38+2 riders end journey in Mankato:
After the Dakota 38+2 Wokiksuye Ride arrived at Reconciliation Park on Monday, Todd Finney recalled how his uncle's dream inspired the remembrance event.
Finney, a Wahpekute Dakota, said his uncle Jim Miller’s idea for horse riders to go from South Dakota to Mankato wasn’t received as well back when it started in 2005 as it is now. Riders endured warning gun shots above their heads along the way during that inaugural journey, he said.
Yet the ride pressed on in year one and each year since as a way to memorialize the Dakota men executed by hanging in Mankato on Dec. 26, 1862.
Miller, a Vietnam War veteran dealing with health concerns related to Agent Orange, started a movement of remembrance and education, Finney told the crowd of hundreds gathered at the park Monday.
“It comes from one of the darkest days in American history,” he said of the ride. “But yet here we are, all nations, colors and creeds standing together because a Vietnam veteran who had been forgotten by everyone else had a dream.”
Monday was the last ride for the first riders who started it back in 2005. In an announcement, organizers of the Dakota 38+2 Wokiksuye Ride stated their decision to end their official ride came after long periods of prayer.
It’ll be up to younger generations to pick up the tradition, with some in attendance on Monday stating their intentions to do so. Finney, whose Dakota name translates to “He Who Walks With His Good Heart" and Lakota name translates to “Fear Is No Enemy,” called Monday the end of “chapter one" of the ride.
“I don’t know if I ever see horses stopping coming here on the 26th,” he said. “One of our elders said ‘If we stop, they’ll forget again.’”
Read the entire article at the Free Press.
The Free Press shared these photos:
The annual Dakota 38+2 Memorial Ride completed its 330-mile journey on Monday at Reconciliation Park in Mankato. The riders braved a blizzard that disrupted travel for many in the country. https://t.co/MyesJnyCXD
— Mankato Free Press (@Mankatonews) December 26, 2022
A witness tweeted video:
🔊ON & UP
— Haida Princess (Lori) (@HaidaPrincess) December 26, 2022
🦅🪶🐴👇🏾'Shannon Bonacci: #Dakota38+2 🪶🐎#MemorialRide. Last & Final Leg of the ride. 330m traveled thru -40° windchills & blizzard conditions but here they r. They made it! Things they don't teach us in school...😊'
(FB VID: Dec 26, 2022)#NativeAmericans #Indigenous pic.twitter.com/JBE1ydxGWe
The local television station reported Final Dakota + 28 Memorial Ride through Mankato. Tweets from the station:
The Dakota 38 + 2 Memorial riders have reached their destination of Reconciliation Park in Mankato for the final time. https://t.co/iYaxE962U7
— KEYC News Now (@KEYCNewsNow) December 26, 2022
Dakota 38+2 Memorial Ride is complete https://t.co/nJLFQIM86o
— KEYC News Now (@KEYCNewsNow) December 27, 2022
A viewer tweeted:
Dakota 38 2 Memorial Ride honors ancestors 159 years after mass execution https://t.co/Xtfh4FBRDj
— 🌎 🌍 ☮️ Carl Doss (@unixdoss) December 27, 2022
The Star Tribune tweeted:
Prayers and grit kept a team of Dakota riders going through two snowstorms and long, frigid days on horses this month, through S.D. and southern Minnesota to reach Mankato — to mark the 160th anniversary of the largest mass execution in American history. https://t.co/7FBqIK0Pf9
— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) December 26, 2022
Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, a White Earth Nation member. tweeted:
160 years ago, the day after Christmas, the largest mass execution in U.S. history occurred in Mankato. For 17 years the Dakota 38+2 riders have honored their ancestors and raised awareness of this painful chapter of the state’s history through this ride. pic.twitter.com/vIVuOdVmDN
— Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (@LtGovFlanagan) December 26, 2022
We'll add more to this digest in the morning.
There's a GoFundMe fundraiser here, put together by Wilfred Keeble.
Photo: Dakota 38+2 Wokiksuye riders finish the last stretch of their 330-mile ride along Riverfront Avenue in Mankato on their way to Reconciliation Park. Jackson Forderer, Special to The Free Press.
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