Notes
Outline
Minnesota’s Civil War
Chapter 9
   Was the Lower Sioux       
     Agency a site of the
          Dakota War?
                YES!
Who said this….
  “If they are hungry, let
         them eat grass.”
      Trader Andrew Myrick
How were the Dakota pressured to give up their traditional ways?
"Agent Thomas Galbraith said that..."
Agent Thomas Galbraith said that Dakota beliefs and habits should not exist.
US policies were designed to make the Dakota reject their culture and accept white culture.
Missionaries tried to convert the Dakota to Christianity.
Farm Dakota were pressured to wear white people’s clothing, and men were pressured to cut their hair short.
The government gave extra food and help to those who became farmers.
Who said this….
“I now knew that my family had been plundered, and I believed murdered.  I was very, very wretched and cared not how soon I too was killed.”
Settler Mary Schwandt
  How were the Dakota
        treated by the
         Missionaries?
"They were encouraged to convert..."
They were encouraged to convert to Christianity.
Missionaries helped them communicate with traders and agents.
Stephen Riggs and Henry Whipple spoke out for them about unfair treatment after the war.
Be able to tell me if all Dakota took part in the fighting or not.  Did they?
                  No
 Who was in charge of   
       distributing the
            annuities?
Agent Thomas Galbraith
In what kind of home  
  did the Farm Dakota
               live in?
    Houses like the white man.
Who was the missionary that said the Dakota were allowed a fair trial even if they had done wickedness?
       Stephen Riggs
Who felt like they were really stuck between the hostile Indians and the white man, even though they tried to council the Indians?
     The Farm Dakota
Who tried to warn his people that they could not win against the white man?  He told his people that they would be devoured like locusts devour the leaves on the trees.

        Little Crow
Who said this….
“If the Indians had tried to make the whites live like them, the whites would have resisted, and it was the same way with many Indians.”

  Traditional Dakota  
 leader Wanmbditanka.
How did the traders’ behavior help cause the Dakota War.
"Some dishonest traders had cheated..."
Some dishonest traders had cheated the Dakota and were no longer trusted.
Traders refused to extend credit or reopen stores when annuities were late.
Andrew Myrick insulted the Dakota by suggesting they eat grass.
After the killings at Acton, the Dakota could have stopped and just let those few be punished.  Why did they choose to fight instead?
"They believed the government would..."
They believed the government would punish all of them anyway.
They thought the U.S. government was distracted by the Civil War, so it was a good time to strike.
What sort of impact did the Dakota War have on
    the white settlers of  
          Minnesota?
"More than 500 whites died"
More than 500 whites died
By 1863 few settlers remained in southwestern Minnesota
Afterward, settlers did not return to Minnesota
   Essay Question Number One
What happened to the Dakota after the war?  Include four or more       examples.
"Dakota defendants were treated unfairly..."
Dakota defendants were treated unfairly in trials.
Henry Sibley sentenced 303 Dakota to death.
President Lincoln reduced the death sentences to 39 and ordered others to be sent to prison camps in Iowa.
36 Dakota were hanged at Mankato on December 26, 1862
About 1,600 Dakota men, women and children were held at Fort Snelling.
Eventually, nearly all Dakota were sent to reservations in Nebraska.
Some Dakota did return to MN and start communities.
Essay Question Number Two
Do you think the Dakota War could have been prevented?  Why or why not?  Give three or more reasons for your answer.
Check your answers….
Are you telling me facts from the chapter and your reading?
Are you being sure to support your answer with information from the chapter?