The war doesn’t sound like it was very well planned out.

Mr. LaBatte talks about the causes of the U.S.-Dakota War and the factionalism that resulted between Dakota at the time.

Audio Chapters

Chapter 1

DL: What’s your opinion of the war?

WL: It was a last-ditch effort to, to survive or to… I don’t know. Because it wasn’t getting any better. Food rations weren’t coming in as they were. We got screwed on the treaties, you know. Ti'wakan is reported to have said to the Mdewakanton, “If you would have counseled with us, we Sisseton Wahpeton people may have helped you and went to war, also.” But he said, “You went to war without consulting us and now we suffer the consequences of your actions.” The war doesn’t sound like it was very well planned out.

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Walter LaBatte. "The war doesn’t sound like it was very well planned out.." https://www3.mnhs.org/usdakotawar/stories/contributors/walter-labatte/1079
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Oral History- Interview | Narrator Walter LaBatte Interviewer Deborah Locke made in Granite Falls, Upper Sioux Community, MN | Thursday, April 28, 2011
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Citation: Minnesota Historical Society. U.S. - Dakota War of 1862. The war doesn’t sound like it was very well planned out.. May 23, 2025.