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The United States is suffering because they made so many mistakes

The United States is suffering because they made so many mistakes

In the context of treaties, Ms. Wilson discusses how the U.S. needs to face the crimes committed against it's Indigenous peoples.

Words to look for:
suffer
Things to think about:

How should the U.S. address it's treatment of Indigenous peoples? What does Ms. Wilson mean when she says the U.S. is suffering?

Audio Chapters

Chapter 1

DL: Do you have any opinions about the treaties that were signed in 1858, 1851?

LW: I think that the United States is suffering because they made so many mistakes, and that’s one of them. I heard one time on TV that evangelists got up and they all said: “we’re sorry for how we treated the Blacks.” I think that’s what has to take place. I think the president has to stand up and say “we’re sorry how the Indians were treated.” I think that’s the only thing that will lift the United States. The United States is going to suffer some more; they still have a lot of suffering to do because they cannot say: “We did wrong.” They’re such a people with high esteem they don’t think they’re in the wrong. When they do say that, the cloud will be lifted and then the whole nation can do good again.

Cite
Lillian Wilson. "The United States is suffering because they made so many mistakes." https://www3.mnhs.org/usdakotawar/stories/contributors/lillian-wilson/1150
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Oral History- Interview | Narrator Lillian Wilson Interviewer Deborah Locke made in Morton, Lower Sioux Community, MN | Thursday, February 17, 2011

Citation: Minnesota Historical Society. U.S. - Dakota War of 1862. The United States is suffering because they made so many mistakes. May 23, 2025.