Pair of sinew sewn leather moccasins with rawhide sole bound with black cotton cloth. Decorated with glass seed beads in geometric pattern. Predominant colors are red, white, yellow, green, and blues. Tongue comprised of 3 tabs with attached metal tinkler cones with remnants of blue feathers. Heel seam fringe and leather thong tie closure.

For details, view these moccasins in our collections database.

Learn More:

• Oceti Ŝakowiŋ – The Seven Council Fires

(Note: The comments section has been temporarily disabled while we upgrade the website. You can always leave comments on our Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotahistoricalsociety/)

Buckskin coat made by Dakota Indians and purchased by personnel of Camp Kamaji on Cass Lake, Minnesota in about 1910.

For details, view this jacket in our collections database.

(Note: The comments section has been temporarily disabled while we upgrade the website. You can always leave comments on our Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotahistoricalsociety/)

Henry Whipple St. Clair poses for a studio portrait circa 1885, when he was a 15 year-old student attending Shattuck School in Faribault, Minnesota. St. Clair, an Episcopal deacon of Dakota Indian heritage ordained by Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple in 1899, served communities throughout Minnesota and South Dakota and was an army chaplain during World War II.

For more information about the St. Clair family, visit their biographical page at In Honor of the People: Exploring American Indian culture in the Bishop Whipple collections.

For details about the photograph of St. Clair, visit our online collections database.

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the largest mass hanging in United States history, carried out in Mankato, Minnesota on December 26, 1862.  On that day, 38 Dakota men were executed for their alleged participation in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

This fall, Minneapolis’ All My Relations Gallery presented Ded Unk’unpi: We Are Here, an exhibition of artworks by contemporary Native American artists.  Many of the artworks, like James Star Comes Out’s mixed media horse mask sculpture “1862 Sung Ite Ha” (above), comment on the execution of the 38, and on the grief, diaspora and exile of the Dakota people that followed.  The artist writes in a statement included in the exhibition:

The horse is respected as it is sacred and empowers the Lakota/ Dakota with its connection with the Wakinyan Oyate (which is important in Lakota/ Dakota belief). In that respect, the sacredness and utilization of the horse is vital in Lakota/ Dakota culture, as representation of honor, pride and value that are used for such ceremonies like a giveaway, honoring, or memorial of a loved one. In past, our ancestors expressed honor and pride by decorating a horse in their finest and given away as a gesture of generosity in honor of loved ones.

With this in mind, I created this piece with the date “1862” in honor and memorial of the 38 Dakota that were hanged in 1862. I have utlized floral designs that represent the Dakota Oyate. Overall, this art piece is a representation of the values and way of life of the Dakota, which defines who we are as a people. But most of all, honoring and remembering what the 38 Dakota went through so our people can live and exist.

Avis Charley’s drawing “For Every Great Man, There is a Great Woman” (above) was also featured in Ded Unk’unpi. In her artist’s statement, Charley writes:

The Dakota War killed many warriors and chiefs. Behind every great man killed was a great woman. During this tragic period in history, the women had to stay strong while ugliness was rampant in their everyday lives from the downhill battle of losing their land and livelihood.

The women represent different generations and the virtues of our Dakota values. These values are courage, honesty, perseverance, and generosity and the message will be about healing, moving forward, and empowering ourselves as Dakota women despite the trauma in our history.

These pieces and more are on exhibit at the Hill House Gallery until January 13, 2013.

Learn more:

• The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862
• The trials and executions of the 38
• Hill House Art Gallery – Ded Unk’unpi: We Are Here art exhibit
• Dakota 38: a documentary film by Silas Hagerty
• All My Relations Gallery

Buckskin trousers made in a style common to Dakota Indians with beadwork embroidery and outer leg seams trimmed with fringe.  Made in the late nineteenth century (between 1877 and 1899) by a Mrs. Galpin of Fort Yates, North Dakota.

For details, view the trousers in our online collections catalog.

To explore more examples of Dakota material culture, visit Oceti Ŝakowiŋ – The Seven Council Fires.

Wooden bow used in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.  The bow was acquired by members of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s St. Paul Chapter.

150 years ago today, on August 17, 1862, a group of Dakota men killed five white settlers near Acton, Minnesota.  In the council that followed, Chief Little Crow reluctantly agreed to lead his people in what would become the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

For details, view the bow in our online collections database.

Learn more:

• Web portal to U.S.-Dakota War resources and programs
• U.S.-Dakota War of 1862: An Exhibit
• Oceti Ŝakowiŋ – The Seven Council Fires

Doll with accompanying cradleboard and infant made by Dakota Indians circa 1880. The adult doll has a sawdust-stuffed cotton body and painted facial features.  She wears a fringed buckskin dress with a beaded bodice and hem. Hair is attached to the head; beaded hide moccasins are sewn to the feet. The cradleboard and the infant doll it holds are both trimmed with beadwork and red stroud cloth.

For details, view the doll in our online collections database.

To view more examples of Dakota material culture, visit Ochethi Šakowiŋ – The Seven Council Fires.

Leather garter or knee band made by Dakota Indians in Mandan, North Dakota in 1888.  The garter has hide thong ties and dyed quillwork decorations.  Its lower edge has rawhide thong fringe wrapped with dyed quillwork; the end of each strand terminates in a metal cone with dyed eagle feathers projecting from the larger end.

For details, view the garter in our online collections database.

To view more examples of Dakota material culture, visit Ochethi Šakowiŋ – The Seven Council Fires.

Model of a Dakota village in miniature made in 1947 by George Crooks (Wakanozanzan or Holy Light) and Alice T. Boyd Crooks (Wicanhpitowin or Blue Star Woman) at the Redwood Indian Agency village in Minnesota.  The model consists of eight human figures, eleven tipis and one travois.

For details, view the model in our online collections database.

Dakota woman’s dress collected by Colonel John G. Clark while Clark was stationed at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory (now North Dakota), in the 1860s.  The combination hide and wool dress has fringed cape sleeves and an inverted U-shape hem with fringe in the center back and front. The neckline is bound with red wool interwoven with a hide strap.  Two rows of pink, green, black and yellow beads are sewn from the shoulder to the end of the sleeve and around the neck and yoke. Small tufts of red wool are sewn around the skirt at the hipline. The sides have hide insets with bead and wool trim.  Small brass buttons are tied to some of the skirt fringe.

For details, view the dress in our online collections database.

To view more examples of Dakota material culture, visit Ocethi Šakowiŋ – The Seven Council Fires.