Dakota riders return home to Minnesota via horseback, honoring legacy of Dakota 38
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More than 150 people lined both sides of Riverfront Drive in Mankato on Friday morning. They waited to welcome the Dakota riders and runners back onto their homeland. Back onto the very same homeland they were exiled from more than a hundred years ago.
As horses galloped, whinnied and snorted upon arrival, the crowds cheered for their homecoming.
Runners from the Dakota 38 Memorial Run, a 71-mile relay from Fort Snelling in St. Paul to Mankato, also ran through to Reconciliation Park. Then, the riders from Makahto Reconciliation and Healing Ride and the Dakota Exile Ride, each having started in Nebraska and South Dakota, entered via a shutdown Riverfront Drive.
Andrea Eastman, of Lake Traverse Reservation, S.D., is a descendant of Wakinya Na (Little Thunder) — one of the 38 Dakota men hanged in Mankato. Eastman traveled with the riders to honor her ancestors. She said seeing a new generation of Dakota youth riding horses sparks hope.
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“It’s a feeling of accomplishment to come back home here, to remember our grandfathers and to ride and to remember them and to be the prayer that they prayed,” Eastman said. “We’re still here. We’re alive today, and for many generations to come.”
The famous horseback rides honor the 38 Dakota men hanged in Mankato on Dec. 26, 1862 —the largest single-day mass execution in U.S. history. President Abraham Lincoln signed the death warrants. The riders traveled more than 300 miles from Santee, Neb. and Lower Brule, S.D. in frigid weather to make it to Reconciliation Park in Mankato, the site of the hangings.
A law that expelled the Dakota people — banning them from returning to their homeland — is still on the books today.
The rides felt a little heavy for some as the national discourse on immigration enforcement cast a pall, especially with news reports of Native people also being detained. Eastman said she took extra steps to be careful, including carrying her state and tribal identification when traveling for the rides.
Eastman said despite feeling scared, she’s still hopeful for a better future.
“We shouldn’t fear [ICE] because we’re from this land,” Eastman said. “We live in uncertain times and as humankind, we need to be kinder to each other and show each other the respect that we all deserve.”
After the ceremony at Reconciliation Park, the group made its way to Kato Ballroom in Mankato for a hot meal and drink. Kids ran around and adults engaged in conversation. For many, the rides serve as a time of prayer and reflection.
Ta Wakandhi Ota Eastman, 16, of Sisseton, S.D., said he has a lot of hope for the number of youth participating in the rides and carrying on the tradition.
“It’s a big responsibility, but keeping it going for their generation, tell their offspring,” Ta Wakandhi Ota said. “That’s what I would like, just for this to never end.”
Some of the youth have ridden for a number of years, including Justin Spider, 16, of Fort Thompson, S.D. He started participating in the Dakota rides three years ago. After the ride’s hiatus, Spider didn’t know if he’d participate.
“I thought it was going to be over forever,” Spider said. “When I heard it was coming back, I wasn’t going to go on it because it's hard, but now it’s my fourth year … seeing these other, younger people riding makes me happy.”
Isaiah Keeble, 19, of Fort Thompson, S.D., says he loves reuniting with family and friends, while being welcomed back into his homeland.
“I just hope that our next generation of Dakota can carry on these ways in our culture and keep continuing this life,” Keeble said. “It feels like we’re actually making a difference. Feels like our dream is actually coming to life.”
