Near the conclusion of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, 1,700 Dakota who had surrendered — mostly women, children and the elderly — were forced to march to Fort Snelling and camp below the fort for the winter. As this video from the Minnesota Historical Society documents, conditions at the camp were difficult, with somewhere between 100 and 300 Dakota dying — many from outbreaks of measles. In May of 1863, the internees were exiled via steamboat to Crow Creek in present-day South Dakota.

YouTube video

Leave a comment