Mankato City Council member asks Obama to pardon Dakota 38

Execution of 38 Dakota Indians
The public execution of 38 Dakota Indians by federal authorities in Mankato, Minn., on Friday, December 26, 1862. Approximately 4,000 people came to witness the event. Copied from a sketch by W.H. Childs in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, January 24, 1863, page 285.
Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society

A petition drive to convince President Barack Obama to pardon 38 Dakota men who were hanged in 1862 after the US-Dakota War for crimes against the US government ends Saturday.

Organizers of the petition drive face an uphill battle: There were about 1,700 signatures out of required 100,000 as of Thursday afternoon.

Jack Considine of the Mankato City Council started the petition. He joins The Daily Circuit to talk about the effort.

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