Mr. Blue talks about Fort Snelling.
Things to think about:
Why do some people think the Fort should be torn down? Why do some people want it to remain?
I didn’t really care to even be seen there.
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DL: How about Fort Snelling.
DB: For a while there, after I retired, I became a veteran service officer. I went there a lot because some of my communication work was involved at the state level for servicemen. So I was there quite a bit, and sure, I saw a lot of the buildings and wandered through some of them. And the point is, I never appreciated it. I liked the idea of being a service officer, a veteran service officer, but I didn’t really care to even be seen there.
DL: We’ve heard from some Dakota people who say the fort should be burned down.
DB: Oh, indeed.
DL: We’ve heard from others who say that it should remain standing as a reminder of what happened there. We’ve heard from other Dakota who are veterans, who see it first and foremost as more of a memorial place, or something important to them as veterans; so they say leave it standing. Would you say: "burn it down"; "keep it as a place of remembrance" or "keep it as a place to honor veterans?"
DB: As long as it’s there, as far as I’m concerned, let it remain. Just let it remain, not as a remembrance, or not because of hatred, or because I condone it. None of those – it’s there, so let stand.
Oral History- Interview |
Narrator Dean Blue Interviewer Deborah Locke, Made in Granite Falls, Upper Sioux Community, MN |
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Citation: Minnesota Historical Society. U.S. - Dakota War of 1862. I didn’t really care to even be seen there. November 17, 2024. http://www.usdakotawar.org/node/1007
Viewpoints: All viewpoints expressed on this website are those of the contributors, and are not representative of the Minnesota Historical Society.
