The main goal was to rob us of our spirit

Ms. Anderson discusses the experience of the Dakota at the concentration camp at Fort Snelling after the U.S.-Dakota War.

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Chapter 1

The main goal was to rob us of our spirit – and nobody could do that. Here at Fort Snelling they had things so bad, and yet the Natives were joking and laughing, and from what I understand, the settlers around there didn’t understand. They wanted to break that spirit and not have us be like that. And so I just – I think I’ve learned more since about Fort Snelling and that has helped me, I guess, understand too, where our humor comes from, our Native humor. We’re just always just joking about something, and I think that’s wonderful. Even when times are bad, you’re having a good time.

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Barbara Anderson. "The main goal was to rob us of our spirit." https://www3.mnhs.org/usdakotawar/stories/contributors/barbara-anderson/983
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Oral History- Interview | Narrator Barbara Anderson Interviewer Deborah Locke made in Granite Falls, Upper Sioux Community, MN | Wednesday, May 4, 2011
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Citation: Minnesota Historical Society. U.S. - Dakota War of 1862. The main goal was to rob us of our spirit. May 23, 2025.