Aftermath of Dakota War 1862

Representative Tamara St. John (R) was in Rapid City attending several events during the Black Hills Powwow this past weekend. She also held a presentation at the Journey Museum regarding the Dakota War or Sioux Uprising of 1862. Above: Tamara St. John and Tom Keidis. (Photo by Richie Richards)

RAPID CITY – As the Black Hills Powwow was winding down on Sunday, a special presentation took place at the Journey Museum regarding the events leading up to the Dakota War of 1862, or Sioux Uprising of 1862, and its aftermath.
Representative Tamara St. John of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) presented the “History of the Dakota and the Dakota Conflict of 1862” to a crowd of nearly fifty people, mostly non-Native Americans interested in this part of their local and regional history.
Through several slides, the historian and genealogist was able to outline the events leading up to the conflict which has been described as both a war and uprising. But as St. John described it during her presentation, this was a conflict which happened as a result of starvation. Starvation which occurred as a result of faulty Indian policy, corrupt government officials, and persons interested in both genocide and assimilation of American Indians.
During the hour-long presentation, the South Dakota State Representative was able to take the audience through a brief history of her people, through a lens represented by the fact that she is directly related to persons of the Dakota 38+2. This infamous hanging of individuals found responsible for the uprising and their participation in the ‘war’ (many of which were hung for ambiguous reasons) is known as being the largest mass hanging in American history.
Prior to becoming a state representative and historian for the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, St. John was a stay at home mom who became interested in her tribe’s history through her interest in genealogy. It was during her research into familial records that she began to make the connections to the 1862 conflict. This time period for St. John’s family was only two or three generations back. This is a personal story for the tribal member.
“For the aftermath of the 1862 war, I had already done a great deal of research on Whitestone Hill,” she said. “Where I came about doing any of this in such an extensive manner was through genealogy. I was home, researching, doing genealogy, and when you study your family line, it forces you to understand history, culture, language.”
It was during the Wolfchild lawsuit when St. John was contacted to do genealogy. This is when she began to study families “into old Minnesota” at an intense level and covering several family lines, as it pertained to the lawsuit. This is when she was able to track the legislation of the time period. This is the era which she calls the movement of her people, from Minnesota to their current location in South Dakota and North Dakota.
“It had become this extensive project where I had developed a huge, personal archives. The tribe got ahold of me at one point and I’ve been with them ever since,” she said. This happened prior to the 2012 150th anniversary of the tragic events in Minnesota. She was adamant about making this anniversary not be a celebration, or referred to a celebratory event. This research had assisted in the Minnesota Historical Society’s exhibit for this commemoration.
This research led to the discovery and exposure of many crimes against Dakota people during period leading up to the 1862 uprising, this included crimes committed by Gov. Alexander Ramsey. “He called for the extermination of the Sioux,” she said. “We were tasked with telling the truth. And how do you do that? That’s probably why they wanted to work with me.”
Part of the joy of doing this type of work was discovering more than lineage and relationships. This telling of the stories of the individuals of the time period and discovering their place in society was a driving factor in her research of the time period. “I never even knew that I could love somebody so much that probably could not even have imagined me. I’m walking on ground where they lived or stood.”
“There is a part of this presentation at the end that is dealing with artifacts. I work with a lot of artifacts. I had the benefit of older people for most of my life and they sort of placed the spiritual component, and traditional beliefs to me during this,” said St. John.
The elders have guided St. John in her work and have reminded her of the protocol and significance of handling objects of ancestors. Part of her research includes being beside survivors of places like the Stonehill massacre site who are experiencing components of her research on a very personal level.
“Through prayer, smudge and sort of a promise that no matter what I see, that I’m not going to judge. One of my grandfather’s had said after looking at all of my books, ‘you could read all of this, but you will never really know everything’,” she said. It was through these teachings that St. John was able to understand and forgive the actions of the participants of the uprising, due to their actions being based on survival. “To look at those actions through modern eyes does not make any sense.”
As part of her research in different areas of the country, whether it be in state or national collections, St. John says she connects with the persons who wrote the documents, or were part of the period. This includes Native and non-Native persons. “One instance, a man is writing in a military journal and they are being tracked,” she said. The military person was writing about finding a blood trail and broken branches. She felt the lament of the author.
St. John has admired the work of others along her journey, including former SWO chairman, Mike Savage. She appreciates the Savage for bringing her onboard to help document the history of the tribe. She said this is not just history, this is part of her genetic makeup.
The historian said a sad part of her job is visiting collections and finding objects have very little information on the pieces. Limited information was provided to the collection and often she can look at a piece and see that the designation is incorrect, or the tribe is listed wrong, based on the designs and prints that might be on the object. Many of the objects in collections come directly from battlefields.
“How we end up telling these stories is really important. Part of my job is not just the research, but how do we convey the individual’s lives and stories,’ she said. “I never had a negative reaction to a presentation, although there might be tears at times. I try to be mindful, but the reality of what my people have experienced is so intense.”
During her discussion, St. John felt it was important to get others to do their own research and question what they have been taught in history books. History is taught by the conqueror, so many of these massacres by the U.S. military are labeled as “battles” or “wars”. This validates the use of deadly force, which helped to clear the land of its original occupants.
For instance, part of the aftermath of the 1862 conflict in Minnesota was the “Battle of Whitestone Hill” was a killing of Yanktonnai and Hunkpapa through the scorched earth process, which the U.S. has claimed were Dakota Santee Sioux. The killing field is now a picnic area that sits upon the hill where innocents were murdered.
St. John’s work is important for many, as it provides insight into the minds of those who were responsible for the assimilation and annihilation of tribal nations. By reading the documents and objects of the time period, she is able to understand what has been left out of traditional history books and why.