The way I always heard the story from the Mendota Dakota was that Little Crow after he had been to DC advised against going to war because he could see they could not win but some of the young warriors attacked settlers anyway. After that Little Crow joined his people in the attempt at war. The treatment of the native people was of course shameful and the system was corrupt with the white Indian agents stealing the money from Washington that was supposed to go to the Indians.
“Little Crow was shot and killed on July 3, 1863, by two settlers, a father and son. They scalped him and took his body to Hutchinson, Minnesota” I learned of this not from school but due to finishing high school in Hutchinson Minnesota and came across a plaque on a rock while driving backroads and from a song by a local group “The Shaw, Allen Shaw Band” —“North Fork Crow River” with lyrics “Uncle Sam is an Indian giver”. Also from that song it occurred to me that that saying was a belittling statement toward the USA not against the indigenous people of the continent.
The way I always heard the story from the Mendota Dakota was that Little Crow after he had been to DC advised against going to war because he could see they could not win but some of the young warriors attacked settlers anyway. After that Little Crow joined his people in the attempt at war. The treatment of the native people was of course shameful and the system was corrupt with the white Indian agents stealing the money from Washington that was supposed to go to the Indians.
Everyone should read Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's History of the U.S. The parallels with the Irish and with the Palestinians are numerous. Thanks again.
Thank you for digging into history for the relevant parallels, and for bringing it to life with music.
Thankyou.
“Little Crow was shot and killed on July 3, 1863, by two settlers, a father and son. They scalped him and took his body to Hutchinson, Minnesota” I learned of this not from school but due to finishing high school in Hutchinson Minnesota and came across a plaque on a rock while driving backroads and from a song by a local group “The Shaw, Allen Shaw Band” —“North Fork Crow River” with lyrics “Uncle Sam is an Indian giver”. Also from that song it occurred to me that that saying was a belittling statement toward the USA not against the indigenous people of the continent.
Thanks for sharing this important bit of American history, David.