Two groups of Native American horse riders are on their way to Mankato from from Nebraska and South Dakota, with both slated to gather downtown Dec. 26 to remember the 38 Dakota men who were hanged after the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.
The Mankato Healing and Reconciliation Ride set out Dec. 10 from Fort Thompson in Lower Brule, South Dakota. The Dakota Exiles Ride, started Saturday from Santee, Nebraska. Each group is taking a different route to get to Mankato.
The Dakota 38+2 Wokiksuye Ride, which for 17 years brought Indigenous horse riders to the heart of Mankato, ended last year, with the hope that a similar tradition would continue with more young Dakota.
Wilfred Keeble, who is leading the Reconciliation Ride, said that hope has been fulfilled.
“We have about 20 riders. Most of our riders are young. We’ve done other rides with these kids, they’re active and they’re good horsemen and learning good horsemanship skills. We have girls and boys riding.”
Keeble, a former staff carrier for the Dakota 38+2 ride for the last 10 years, is one of only two riders from the original 2005 Dakota 38+2 ride still living. The +2 refers to two Dakota chiefs who were hanged at Fort Snelling in 1865.
In 2005, Lakota spiritual leader Jim Miller dreamt of Dakota people returning home to Minnesota on horseback, which spurred the annual memorial ride. Eventually many of the original riders retired and Miller died of cancer in 2023.
Jim Hallum, who was also involved in the 38+2 rides, is leading the Dakota Exiles ride.
“We started it in 2020 during COVID,” he said of the Exiles Ride.
“We ride for all the exiles. It’s for all the tribes out there, wherever they are from. We’re all still in exile technically. We can’t do the things we used to do and go back to the old way of life.”
One year after the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Minnesota Indian Removal law, resulting in removal of the Dakota people from Minnesota.
The law is still on the books. The Minnesota Legislature has passed a nonbinding resolution that urges the president and Congress to repeal the federal exile legislation.
Hallum said the long rides in often bitter cold can be grueling.
“We camp out every night, but it’s a struggle. Teepees are OK, but unless you have a hide teepee, it’s tough. And we have to set them up every night.”
Hallum said he some of the other riders are in recovery. “I’ve been in recovery for 38 years. These horses are our medicine.”
Keeble said frigid, blustery weather has often hit during the 38+2 rides.
“The last year we did the 38+2 ride, a storm came in behind us and chased us all the way. We had whiteouts and bitter cold and wind chills.
“But that’s kind of a reminder of what the grandpas and grandmas were going through in 1862 and they didn’t have the winter gear like we do,” Keeble said.
He said the Mankato Healing and Reconciliation Ride may have a different name than the former 38+2 ride, but the purpose is the same.
“We still carry that message of reconciliation and healing that the dreamer had.”
While taking different routes, the two groups will both arrive at Land of Memories Park on Dec. 24 or 25, then ride downtown to Reconciliation Park on the morning of Dec. 26, the date of the hanging in 1862.
There are also runners who start at Fort Snelling, who join the others at Reconciliation Park on Dec. 26.