The bloody U.S.-Dakota War had been over for three years. Thirty-eight Dakota men had been hanged in Mankato. But white military and political leaders weren’t satisfied. They felt they had to hang two more... Medicine Bottle and Shakopee had fled during the aftermath of the Dakota War of 1862 and had escaped across the Canadian border to Manitoba with more than 500 Dakota refugees from the war. Fearing death at the hands of the angry Americans, they tried to find a way to remain safe in Canada.
However, in January 1864, Shakopee and Medicine Bottle stopped by the home of a friendly white trader near Winnipeg’s Fort Garry. That Canadian trader, John McKenzie, was paid by the U.S. Army to help capture them. McKenzie drugged Shakopee and Medicine Bottle, then he and his men tied them up and transported them to the soldiers at Pembina. The Minnesota Legislature paid $1,000 to McKenzie as a bounty. Kangaroo court trials were held and both Shakopee and Medicine Bottle were convicted despite no real evidence that they had committed atrocities. At noon on Nov. 11, 1865, 425 soldiers marched in formation to surround a specially constructed double gallows at Fort Snelling. More than 400 rabid white settlers turned out to watch the hangings of two Dakota leaders: Medicine Bottle and Shakopee. This is why there is a remembrance for the 38 people hanged for the 1862 uprising... PLUS 2.
3 Comments
TERESA PATTON DILLMAN
12/30/2019 10:20:25 am
THANK YOU FOR THIS SAD LOOK BACK IN OUR COUNTRY;S HISTORY, SOMETIMES I WONDER WHO THE SAVAGES REALLY WERE...
Reply
Beverly Bugg
1/31/2021 09:43:48 am
Savages?? The whites killed so many of our people along wit great leaders fr n we are called "savages" among the years smh if you actually look at your history you will find that our people were first...
Reply
Beverly Bugg
1/31/2021 09:43:34 am
I know my history fry mom studied how y'all whites came to be fr
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorA collaborative effort of members of the Ojibwe and Metis communities Archives
January 2020
Categories |