Dakota 38

The Dakota 38 is the largest mass execution in u.s History. Uprising happened when troops were skimming rations from the Dakota and then an officer said “Let them eat grass”. Dakota put in concentration camps at Fort Snelling. Eventually the u.s called for removal of all Dakota from Minnesota. Dakota people were removed by trains, by foot, in cattle cars and on boats. Some of us jumped off the boats and drowned themselves rather than be removed. Learning about that reminded me of a story my grandfather told me about soldiers who had been drafted jumping off the boats at sea rather than be forced into war. These are the pieces that get left out of the history classes in schools. Thats why by self-determination we must build our own schools. Those of us who avoided removal and refused to leave Minesota were hunted by Indian hunters who hunted us like game with a 75$ bounty on scalps. Later that bounty was raised to 200$ this is something around 5000$ in current day. One quarter of us had who had surrendered had died by 1863 and its clear by the mortality rates that they’ve always wanted us dead. The hanging took place on Dec. 26 at 10 am. in Mankato. After the relocation the first place we were taken was jail. The Hochunk who hadn’t participated in the uprising were also driven out of Minnesota which indicates that the colonist wants us dead whether we oppose them or not so we might as well fight back.

“This “country” only fears two things and that’s Indian uprising and slave revolt”.

Invisible Warrior

Our leaders and holy people were accused of murder and rape and were sentenced to death. All we were guilty of was defending ourselves against the colonial invaders. We would have felt pressure to fight because 30 percent of our population was under the age of 10. This is more of the u.s attacking civilian populations of mostly women and children. Later the u.s would put many of our holy men in insane asylums and try to get them to denounce the indigenous religions and take up christianity or be left in the asylum to die. Many lost their lives here because they refused to convert. We resist! we resist for every one of our holy people left to die. For the ones who wouldn’t give in. Let them fight back thru us. Our hands be theirs. Our minds and hearts be willing. The death penalty was created in the u.s specifically for native and African peoples. This was its specific intended purpose, and this was the function it served and still serves today. The Dakota 38 had no defense attorneys. The “trials” lasted less than 10 min. I recall spending some time in Mankato with American Indian Movement. I was there a few weeks waiting for a tornado to pass and getting auto repair. An elder spread sage around the place we were staying so that we would be protected. I remember having to go to the next town to get groceries and how racist the next town Redwood MN. is. If some of the people who claim to be in solidarity with us would talk to their racist relatives if they were really so anti racist how come, they have not confronted their own families in a meaningful way? Angry mobs of settlers try to kill us while we were being held for trial. 4000 spectators came to watch the hanging. Our leaders and holy men were buried in a mass grave and dug up later to be tested on for science. Nonnatives are benefiting from the removal of our tribes from our ancestral homelands still to this day. The empire must be stopped. It is an empire who on its holy days executes our holy people. Its always had rituals in our blood. It exists at our expense and misery. To begin to remedy this; settlers who are early moral adopters can get on the right side of history by giving land back to the original people and join the resistance under indigenous rule. We give no place for the colonizer religion within the restoration of Turtle Island.

“It is mandatory for indigenous peoples to participate in our own liberation struggles”. Invisible Warrior.

Whos land? Our land! Red Power!

Written By The Invisible Warrior