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The U.S.-Dakota War broke out at the Lower Sioux Agency on Aug. 18, 1862, just over 160 years ago. By the end of the conflict, hundreds of Dakota, mixed-race persons and white settlers would lose their lives. Today, the staff at the historical agency site are working to tell the stories about those several months while also helping visitors to understand their own part in the ongoing narrative.
The hanging of 38 Sioux Indians at Mankato, Minnesota in 1862, following a brief military conflict, is often seen as the ultimate evidence of oppression of Native Americans by whites. Each year, a long horseback ride is conducted to honor those who were hanged; Minnesota s left-wing governor participates annually in the ride. But this conventional view is wrong. In reality, the Great Sioux Massacre of 1862 is the blackest moment