MNHS cares for about 1000 items of cultural patrimony related to the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota, including ceremonial objects, arts, clothing and tools. All of these items are listed and most can be viewed online at www.mnhs.org/sevencouncilfires. Photos related to the Dakota can be searched and viewed at www.mnhs.org/search/collections. Manuscripts related to Dakota family history can be found at libguides.mnhs.org/dakotafh/manuscripts. Primary and secondary resources related to the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 can be found at libguides.mnhs.org/war1862.
Within the MNHS collections, there are many Dakota items that are eligible for repatriation under a federal law called the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). NAGPRA requires museums that have received federal funds to return certain categories of objects (sacred objects, unassociated funerary objects, and objects of cultural patrimony) to Native tribes or bands. Because of the culturally sensitive nature of these items, we do not display photographs of them or use them in exhibits. We believe strongly in consultation with Tribal Nations.
Until 2024, MNHS had in its collection a noose used to execute Wicahpi Wastedanpi (Good Little Stars, or, Chaske), one of 38 Dakota men hanged in Mankato after the US-Dakota War of 1862. In a donation letter addressed to MNHS on July 29, 1869, Captain J.K. Arnold states that he stole the noose and hid it so that it wouldn’t be sent to Washington, D.C., with the other nooses used in the hangings. In 2024, the noose was repatriated to the Prairie Island Indian Community under NAGPRA as an Unassociated Funerary Object and as a Sacred Object.
