Dakota Exiles Ride begins nearly 300 mile trek to Mankato

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - In 1862, in the fallout of the U.S.-Dakota War, an estimated 1700 Dakota people were taken to an internment camp at Fort Snelling.

The conditions were tough, and between one and three-hundred died from starvation or disease.

The next year, the surviving Dakota were loaded onto steamboats and transported to the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota, where many more suffered and died.

Today the memory of those people, now known as the “Dakota Exiles” lives on with a memorial ride, similar to the Dakota 38 + 2 or Reconciliation Rides but specifically meant to tell the story of those exiled Dakota.

Sunday the ride began in Santee, Nebraska, and will ride 290 miles to Mankato, landing alongside the Reconciliation Riders and Fort Snelling runners at the downtown memorial site on the day after Christmas.

This group, rather than relying on lodging, camp out on their own, setting up teepees in parks or wherever they can take a break.

The ride also shines a spotlight on substance abuse and suicide that is far too common in indigenous peoples.

The group is resolved to having a completely clean ride, in their words, “No drinking, no drugs, only prayer.”

Click here to download the KEYC News Now app or our KEYC First Alert weather app.