Dakota War Commemoration Events
Dakota War Commemoration Events
Events Planned During the August, 2012 Commemoration
Days until the beginning of the commemoration activities
The people of Minnesota will be commemorating the 150th anniversary of the 1862 Dakota Uprising in August, 2012. We will be updating this page as more events become known.
St. Peter: Dakota War lecture series at Gustavus: guest lectures about the US-Dakota War coming up in January at Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter. Each of the lectures is being recorded and will be available streamed from their website shortly after the series is finished.
http://news.blog.gustavus.edu/2011/12/17/u-s-dakota-war-of-1862-speaker-series-begins-jan-4/.
New Ulm: The commemorative events for Brown County/New Ulm are being organized by the "Brown County Steering Committee for the 150th Anniversary of the Dakota War.” Go to:
http://www.browncountydakotawarcommemoration.com/Home_Page.php. Scroll down to Family Links to view families planning events during the commemoration.
Below is a tentative list of events scheduled by this group.
Jackson: The Jackson County Historical Society: Commemoration and Honoring Victims of 1862 and 1857 Dakota Uprising. Dedication of the 1909 memorial to the victims of these massacres in Jackson County. Note: No documented record exists to claim that the monument in Ashley Park was ever dedicated after it's installation. Dates: Aug 23-25, 2012 Jackson, MN.
New Ulm: The Hermann Monument Society (HMS) is planning a Reunion Picnic at Hermann Heights Park to coincide with the 150th Anniversary US/Dakota War Commemoration on August 23, 2012. HMS will honor veterans who served in the Civil War or defended New Ulm in 1862 and recognize defender families at this event. They wish to record those families’ history in a Defender Family Booklet. Go to: www.hermannmonument.com. Contact the Event Planning Committee c/o Wendy Enter at hermann_monument_society@yahoo.com.
Le Sueur: The historical marker for the Le Sueur Tigers dedication will be on the grounds of the historic Mayo House on Main Street in Le Sueur on Sunday, August 19, 2025 at 2 PM. There were nearly 150 men who enlisted in the Le Sueur Tigers and went to the assistance of New Ulm. Six were killed there in the August 23, 2025 battle. This battle for New Ulm was the largest battle for a town between the Indians and the whites since the nation’s founding in 1776. And the outcome hung in the balance, with the Tigers playing an important role in defending the town. For more information, contact Becky Pollack, Executive Director of the Mayo House Interpretive Center at mayohouse.bp@gmail.com.
Mankato: The City of Mankato has provided a list of events that are commemorating US-Dakota Conflict Sesquicentennial Commemoration at this link: http://www.visitgreatermankato.com/Dakotaconflict150.php
Morton: This event for Morton, plus many other events, was found on the above Greater Mankato Convention and Visitor’s Bureau website. Over Labor Day weekend 2012 the Renville County Historical Museum will have a battlefield encampment set up to show the soldiers of the Civil War era. They will perform dramas including surgeries, training and meals that would have taken place at camps outside of the battlefields. They will have representation from the Dakota people to represent their lifestyle during that period as well. For more information contact Director Carl Colwell: Renville County Historical Museum, 441 North Park Drive, Morton, MN, 507.697.6147, director@renvillecountyhistory.com,
This is a photograph of a ribbon issued for the 75th Anniversary in 1937, then called the Indian Massacre. The original is in my possession.