Back in February, my wife Robbie and I did the candlelight walk at Fort Snelling State Park under a bright moon. I was thrilled to see that park’s visitor center, AKA the Thomas C. Savage Interpretive Center, has a fabulous display on the Dakota Conflict Concentration Camp, the prison camp where hundreds of Mdewakanton Dakota were imprisoned at Ft. Snelling during the winter following the 1862 Dakota War.
Click the photo thumbnails to enlarge. The photos of displays with descriptive text pop up to versions large enough to read.
[...] at Mankato after that war ended but not many of us (including me, until recently) know about the concentration camp at Fort Snelling (it’s usually referred to an ‘internment camp’) where nearly 2,000 Dakota (mainly [...]
Thanks for this excellent information.
You’re welcome, Holly. Glad you took time to visit. Spread the word!
[...] - to my horror - that Fort Snelling here in Minnesota, less than 15 minutes from my home, has a great exhibit on the concentration camp for Dakotas during the wars that resulted in Minnesota sta…. Why horror? Because nobody knows about it, and the exhibit is barely being promoted in [...]
I have known of genocide among our native peoples, however this information is new to me. How very informative and interesting. Yet our people live strong!
Glad to be of help, Theresa. Spread the word!
Omygod…I see my own Renville family listed 3 times on this concentration camp list. I only knew of Gabriel’s involvement before.
Hi Valerie,
I read six Renville names! Is that what you meant? What a terrible black spot on Minnesota’s history.
Of course, there are six Renvilles listed. My attention was entirely taken by the listing of Joseph. there may have been more than one Joseph Renville at that time though. My forefather Joseph Akipa (b. Francois), son of Joseph of Lac la Parle, was born in Pembina and died 1866 by the hand of Sioux in Pembina Territory while carrying mail from Pembina to St.Paul, so could be a different Joseph. or…the family story is still not fully told.
Valerie
Wow, those are famous names. You go way back! Sorry to hear about the killing. I can see why the Sioux would have been angry, though. What do you think?
This is a puzzle. If anyone knows about which Joseph Renville it is, I would love to hear what is known.
He was brother to Gabriel,who some say was adopted by the Renvilles, so I can see that he could have been in the area to help as he could. If true to his father’s views he would have been assisting the whites as Gabriel did so I can see how some Sioux would have been angry at him. It must have been a tough choice for the ‘between worlds’ people.
Wow, it really doesn’t seem fair to kill someone for helping others. What a mess it was back then. Sorry for yor family loss.
I wish the US would have paid the Sioux as was the agreed upon plan. i bet it’s tough to watch your family members starve to death while you know you’re due money. No wonder there was an uprising.
And I really wish Lincoln would have investigated more before he condemned people to death.