A Hard Decision

Scene of the Acton Murders, August 18th, 1862 "See!--the white men are like the locusts when they fly so thick that the whole sky is a snowstorm. You may kill one--two--ten; yes, as many as the leaves in the forest yonder, and their brothers will not miss them. Kill one--two--ten, and ten times ten will come to kill you. Count your fingers all day long and white men with guns in their hands will come faster than you can count. . . .Braves, you are little children--you are fools. You will die like the rabbits when the hungry wolves hunt them in the Hard Moon. Taoyateduta is not a coward; he will die with you.”

Taoyateduta (Little Crow), reacting to news of the Acton incident

The night of the killings at Acton, soldiers’ lodge members gathered to decide whether to declare war. Realizing that their actions would not go unpunished, the men responsible for the killings, along with their chief, Red Middle Voice, sought out Sakpe (Shakopee), who suggested they convene that evening in Little Crow’s village.

Soldiers’ lodge members and leaders met with Little Crow to determine a course of action. Ultimately, the full force of the soldiers’ lodge convinced a reluctant Little Crow to lead them into battle. After one young man accused him of cowardice, Little Crow gave an impassioned speech, which was later reported and written down. 

Theme:

1862

Topics:

Causes of War
Cite
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Bibliography

Anderson, Gary Clayton and Woolworth, Alan R. Through Dakota Eyes: Narrative Accounts of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1988.

Anderson, Gary Clayton. Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1986.

Resources for Further Research

Primary

Anderson, Gary Clayton and Woolworth, Alan R. Through Dakota Eyes: Narrative Accounts of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1988.

Key People

Sakpedan (Shakopee, Little Six)
Sakpedan (Shakopee, Little Six)
Taoyateduta (Little Crow)
Taoyateduta (Little Crow)
Sakpedan (Shakopee, Little Six)

Sakpedan (Shakopee, Little Six)

"As the white man comes in the Indian goes out."

Sakpe [also known as Sakpedan, Shakopee, Little Six], photo taken at Ft. Snellng, 1864

Sakpe was the leader of a village located near the mouth of the Redwood River. After the Acton incident on August 17, the men who had killed the settlers went to several elders, including Sakpe, for counsel. After the war, Sakpe fled to Canada, but in January 1864, he was captured by British agents, turned over to U.S. authorities and imprisoned at Fort Snelling. In August, a military tribunal convicted him of killing civilians and sentenced him to death. He was executed at the fort on Nov. 11, 1865, in the presence of the fort's garrison and numerous civilians. It is said that as they climbed the scaffold, a steam train whistle blew in the distance, prompting Sakpe to say: "As the white man comes in, the Indian goes out." A sign at Historic Fort Snelling marks the execution site.

View full article: Sakpedan (Shakopee, Little Six)

Taoyateduta (Little Crow)

Taoyateduta (Little Crow)

"We have waited a long time. The money is ours, but we cannot get it. We have no food, but here are these stores, filled with food. We ask that you, the agent, make some arrangement by which we can get food from the stores, or else we may take our own way to keep ourselves from starving. When men are hungry they help themselves"
Taoyateduta, 1862
Taoyateduta (which translates as "His Scarlet Nation," though he was more often known as Little Crow, after his father) was born into the Mdewakanton village of Kaposia about 1810. He succeeded his father as leader in 1846. During the 1850s, he was widely recognized as a spokesperson for all the Lower bands of Dakota. He was a negotiator and signer of the Treaty of Mendota in 1851 and the Treaty of 1858. By the 1860s, Little Crow had adopted some European customs — he owned some European-styled clothing, for example, and he lived in a wood-frame house. But like most Dakota farmers on the Lower reservation, he staunchly refused to compromise his Dakota religious beliefs.
Little Crow tried to use his knowledge of white culture to guide the course of the war. On August 19, with hundreds of settlers already dead in Brown and Renville counties, and with attacks on white settlements continuing, he is reported to have said, "Soldiers and young men, you ought not to kill women and children. . . . You should have killed only those who have been robbing us so long. Hereafter make war after the manner of white men."

On September 7, 1862 — three weeks into the fighting — Little Crow sent a letter to Henry Sibley pinpointing the reasons Lower soldiers went to war. Little Crow’s letter condenses decades of frustration over misuse of government funds, late annuity payments, and poor relations between government officials and Dakota leaders into a few terse sentences.

"Dear Sir – For what reason we have commenced this war I will tell you. it is on account of Maj. Galbrait [sic] we made a treaty with the Government a big for what little we do get and then cant get it till our children was dieing with hunger – it is with the traders that commence Mr A[ndrew] J Myrick told the Indians that they would eat grass or their own dung. Then Mr [William] Forbes told the lower Sioux that [they] were not men [,] then [Louis] Robert he was working with his friends how to defraud us of our money, if the young braves have push the white men I have done this myself."

Letter to Col. Sibley, Sept. 12, 1862:

"Red Iron Village or Mazawakan
To Hon H. H. Sibley
We have in Mdewakanton band one hundred & fifty five prisoners. not including the Sisiton [sic] & Warpeton [sic] prisoners. then we are waiting for the Sisiton what we are going to do with the prisoners they are coming down. they are at Lake qui Parl now. the words that I have sent to the governed I want to here [sic.] from him also. and I want to know from you as a friend what way that I can make peace for my people. in regard to prisoners they fair [sic.] with our children or our self just as well as us
your truly friend
Little Crow
per Scott Campbell"

After the Battle of Wood Lake, he left Minnesota and attempted to gather support for a continued war in the west and Canada. He was killed on July 3, 1863 after returning to Minnesota. For many years some of his remains were put on display by the Minnesota Historical Society before being returned to his descendants for burial.

View full article: Taoyateduta (Little Crow)