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Mankato, honoring the men sent to their deaths by President Abraham Lincoln.27Similar the
2002 venture, the Dakota members leave mementos on the large Bison monument placed in
Reconciliation Park. These ribbons, vestiges, and personalized memories remain on the site for
one year, only to be replaced by the next journey of remembrance. After this ceremony, the
Dakota cohort camps at the “Land of Memories” Park, the same ground where the 1965 Mahkato
Wacipi originated. Renowned Native American scholar, and Dakota member, Vine Deloria, Jr.
announces that “[creating] new ceremonies involving Dakota, non-Dakota, and the land…are
seen as essential to begin the building of a new shared history.28 Reconciliation is a distinct
process and bringing together all sides of the story, and all those involved, allows this region to
begin the healing process over such a traumatic event.

Since the end of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, the Dakota people have weathered
intense scrutiny from their white neighbors, yet continued to remain alive as a group of Native
Americans in the ever-changing United States. Even after severe retribution and punishment for
participating in this conflict, and even more specifically the relocation of Dakota away from their
traditional homelands, the Dakota population persists to this day in the face of this and other
adversities. The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 demonstrates a wide-ranging slew of interpretations,
through monuments, oral histories, community events, and memory by examining the Native and
white voice in the Minnesota River Valley. This narrative explores the importance of Native
American culture being an essential aspect of the writing of United States history. Furthermore,
public history and perception of the conflict capture the ethos, power, imagination, and voice

27 Paul Finkelman, “Dakota Rebellion of 1862,” U.S. Capitol Historical Society: Civil War,
Aired on May 3, 2013, on CSPAN3.
28 Mahkato Wacipip: Honoring the 38 Dakota, 2016, “30th Annual Mahkato Education Day:
History of the Education Day Project Event.” Mankato, Minnesota. Accessed April 29, 2016.
http://www.mahkatowacipi.org/education/php.