Biggest thing that happened to us was the Second World War.

Dr. Canku talks about World War II.

Things to think about:

Native Americans communities have one of the largest proportional enrollments in the U.S. military.

Audio Chapters

Chapter 1

DL: What's the first news story you remember from your childhood? The first news you had beyond the reservation, a world event or a national event?

CC: Biggest thing that happened to us was the Second World War. All our men were involved in that war. Our men were killed or came back wounded, so it was the biggest thing that had ever happened in our community. Prior to that, the biggest thing that happened was the 1862 War and the exile that followed the War.

DL: It must have all been very traumatic.

CC: Yes.

Cite
Dr. Clifford Canku. "Biggest thing that happened to us was the Second World War.." https://www3.mnhs.org/usdakotawar/stories/contributors/dr-clifford-canku/1024
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Oral History- Interview | Narrator Dr. Clifford Canku Interviewer Deborah Locke made at Minnesota History Center, St. Paul, MN | Friday, June 10, 2011
Read or listen to entire Oral History

Citation: Minnesota Historical Society. U.S. - Dakota War of 1862. Biggest thing that happened to us was the Second World War.. May 23, 2025.