04. What should Minnesotans know about the war?

 
People should understand the complex story behind the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. The causes of the war are rooted in opposing views on land use and ownership and also long-term relationships between the Dakota and the U.S. government, in particular the treaties of 1851 and U.S. policies of assimilation that were enacted during the 1853-1862 reservation period. The tragedy of hundreds of dead on both sides cannot be forgotten, as well as the policies that forced nearly all Dakota to leave their traditional homeland in 1863.