77: The Indian Wars (Part 1): The U.S.-Dakota War

History That Doesn't Suck

ProfGregJackson

Education, History, Society & Culture

4.5 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 November 2020

⏱️ 65 minutes

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Summary

“To be hanged by the neck until he is dead.” This is the story of the US-Dakota War. The most eastern of the three major Sioux peoples, the Dakota are indigenous to Minnesota. They’ve lived beside trappers, fur traders, and the like, for quite a while (salut, les Canadiens-français). But now, more white settlers are showing up and setting up farms, and American officials are buying lands in exchange for long-term payments. But what happens when those payments are late? Shorted? Meanwhile, traditional hunting grounds are gone. Amid these tensions, four hungry Dakota men on a failed hunt kill two settler families. Other settlers only see a seemingly random act of murder; the Dakota see men pushed beyond their limits. A war ensues. The settlers win quickly but suffer hundreds of deaths in the process. Now questions arise: Are warriors guilty of murder? Are some guilty of massacring? Many Minnesotans say yes to both, and over 300 Dakota men are sentenced to death. Settlers are crying for blood as the final decision to approve or deny these sentences go all the way to the top. It’s your call, President Abraham Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	History that doesn't suck is a bi-weekly podcast, delivering a legit, seriously researched
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0:31.0	It's around October 1st, 1862.
0:35.0	We're in southwestern Minnesota, about 30 to 40 miles east of the relatively young states
0:39.6	border with the Dakota territory.
0:42.4	Countless tents and teapies, daas brawling prairie.
0:46.3	This is camp release.
0:48.2	And trial is in session.
0:53.7	Alright, a little background.
0:56.2	In August, war erupted between the Dakota and the settler communities out here on the
1:00.0	edge of Minnesota.
1:01.8	The two groups couldn't view the conflict more differently.
1:04.9	To the Dakota, they took up arms to preserve their ancestral lands and way of life from a
1:08.9	treaty breaking and coaching United States.
1:12.1	To the settlers, this was an inexplicable killing spree launched on innocent civilians, including
1:17.0	women and children.
1:18.6	Either way, the war is already winding down.
1:21.8	A large number of Dakota's surrendered to Colonel Henry H. Sibley a week or so back, after
	...

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