Speaker 1: Hey, folks, erin here. Just a heads up. This episode
Speaker 1: contains stories of violence and genocide that might be hard
Speaker 1: for some to hear. Take care while listening. Turkey Cranberry's
Speaker 1: stuffing and pumpkin pie. It's the traditional Thanksgiving dinner for
Speaker 1: many Americans. It said time to gather and give thanks
Speaker 1: for all that we have. Ever since grade school, we've
Speaker 1: been taught that when the Pilgrims arrived in America, the
Speaker 1: local Wampanoag tribe helped them survive in the new world.
Speaker 1: To show their gratitude, the Pilgrims invited their new friends
Speaker 1: to a feast in late November of sixteen twenty one.
Speaker 1: Historians still debate the origin of Thanksgiving, with some pointing
Speaker 1: to the Peaquot War of sixteen thirty seven as the
Speaker 1: first event. See The colonists feared that the native Peaquot
Speaker 1: people would form an alliance with the nearby Narragansetts and
Speaker 1: drive them into the sea. According to the governor of Plymouth,
Speaker 1: a guy named William Bradford, armed soldiers surrounded the Pequot
Speaker 1: village and set it on fire, calling the deaths a
Speaker 1: sweet sacrifice. Governor Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay colony declared
Speaker 1: a day to celebrate. Fast forward to the sixteen twenties,
Speaker 1: the English separatists, known as These Saints, ended up in
Speaker 1: Plymouth sometime in December. Sick and low on supplies. Their
Speaker 1: survival seemed bleak. They encountered the Wampanoag tribe, who offered assistance.
Speaker 1: In a show of compassion and peace, the two nations
Speaker 1: signed a treaty, with both sides promising to protect each
Speaker 1: other from enemies. The jurisdiction was sorted out later. After
Speaker 1: losing nearly half their settlers in the first winter to sickness,
Speaker 1: the English teetered on extinction. The Wampanoag also suffered, though
Speaker 1: Europeans brought diseases after all, killing ninety percent of the
Speaker 1: native population. Still, Chief Massasoit represented seventy Wampanoag communities. At
Speaker 1: the feast. Native Americans and pilgrims celebrated with venison, wild fowl,
Speaker 1: cod and recently harvested vegetables. But the celebrations wouldn't last
Speaker 1: for the Native Americans across the land. Oppression and persecution
Speaker 1: were soon to come. I'm Aaron Mankee, and welcome to
Speaker 1: the wild West. During America's early years, settlers believed that
Speaker 1: nothing was free and that hard work was the only
Speaker 1: way to achieve success. But free land was a deeply
Speaker 1: rooted part of American folklore and the original American dream
Speaker 1: of European settlers. It didn't help that the US government
Speaker 1: encourage them to spread west, conquer the land, and make
Speaker 1: it prosperous. The goal was to increase and multiply so
Speaker 1: they could hold the land regardless of who might already
Speaker 1: be living there. Congress didn't always agree, at least about
Speaker 1: the free part. Then the Civil War ushered in even
Speaker 1: more significant changes. In eighteen sixty one, Lincoln told the
Speaker 1: nation that the American government's purpose was to elevate the
Speaker 1: condition of men and to give everyone an unfettered start
Speaker 1: and a fair chance in the race of life. The
Speaker 1: Homestead Act followed in eighteen sixty two, granting free land
Speaker 1: to those wanting to farm. Homesteaders who wanted land had
Speaker 1: to file a claim and then pay an eighteen dollar fee.
Speaker 1: Ten dollars of that fee went to claiming the land,
Speaker 1: another two went to the land agent for a commission,
Speaker 1: and the remaining six dollars payment went toward the patent
Speaker 1: on the land. Filers could buy land for a dollar
Speaker 1: twenty five per acre. Homesteaders also needed to fulfill additional requirements, though,
Speaker 1: including five years of continuous residents on that land, building
Speaker 1: a home there, farming it, and making improvements. Applicants could
Speaker 1: not ever have borne arms against the United States, and finally,
Speaker 1: two neighbors or friends had to certify the applicants had
Speaker 1: fulfilled the requirements. In the era of the Civil War,
Speaker 1: Union soldiers were granted the privilege of shortening that mandated
Speaker 1: five year residency peer by the duration of their service
Speaker 1: in the military. Before land ownership was unattainable for a
Speaker 1: lot of struggling farmers, but with the Homestead Act, they
Speaker 1: had a better shot at prosperity. Additionally, women could now
Speaker 1: make land claims, marking a significant milestone. This change also
Speaker 1: provided a new path for immigrants who were not limited
Speaker 1: to working in coastal industries or for large farm owners.
Speaker 1: They could form their own communities, as seen in the
Speaker 1: establishment of New Olm, Minnesota. German and Bohemian immigrants founded
Speaker 1: the town and displayed little desire to integrate into American society,
Speaker 1: instead choosing to limit commerce within their community. The town
Speaker 1: primarily spoke the native languages and created a new home
Speaker 1: for themselves on the riverbank. In eighteen fifty three, steamboats
Speaker 1: passed by New Olm, bringing troops to lay out Fort Ridgeley.
Speaker 1: For the next two decades, settlers, freight supplies, and gold
Speaker 1: all arrived by boat. Native Americans and New Olm settlers
Speaker 1: traded and mingled freely. Life along the river banks seemed idyllic,
Speaker 1: at least until white settlers came by the hundreds, taking
Speaker 1: over the homes and the hunting grounds of the Dakota tribes.
Speaker 1: The trouble started in eighteen fifty five while the Dakota
Speaker 1: who occupied the land were away hunting elsewhere. The settlers
Speaker 1: literally moved into the Dakota's bark houses and took over
Speaker 1: their land, and then refused to leave, even when the
Speaker 1: original inhabitants returned and demanded their property back. Although there
Speaker 1: were treaties between the settlers and the Dakota, the newcomers
Speaker 1: ignored them. As you might imagine, the Dakota didn't care
Speaker 1: much for people stealing their homes and crops, but it
Speaker 1: didn't stop with just taking their property. The settlers also
Speaker 1: drove away the game that the Dakota needed for food.
Speaker 1: They also brought smallpox, which decimated the tribes, so the
Speaker 1: Dakota sent their chief, Teyo y Te Dutta to speak
Speaker 1: on their behalf. The white settlers simply called him Chief
Speaker 1: Little Crow, a mistranslated version of his father's name, which
Speaker 1: had meant charging hawk. Although Little Crow tried to reason,
Speaker 1: the settlers turned to deaf ear. They refused to leave
Speaker 1: to honor the treaty, and they declined to pay the
Speaker 1: Dakota for what they'd taken. Hungry and homeless, the Dakota
Speaker 1: resorted to begging. More white settlers followed, though, taking even
Speaker 1: more of their land. Eventually, the government offered the Dakota
Speaker 1: annuities monthly payments, handing them out midsummer, But in eighteen
Speaker 1: sixty two, the payments were late, supplies were low, and
Speaker 1: the Dakota were hungry, so hungry, in fact, that they
Speaker 1: had no choice but to eat unripe fruit and marsh grass.
Speaker 1: Settlers refused to offer aid, and unlike the white settlers,
Speaker 1: the Dakota were not allowed to buy supplies on credit.
Speaker 1: The settlers remained unempathetic, though the Dakota lacked food necessary
Speaker 1: for their survival, and they weren't about to help them,
Speaker 1: which turned out to be the perfect recipe for confrontation.
Speaker 1: Andrew Meyrick worked as as a trader at the Lower
Speaker 1: Sioux Agency. Although he had a Dakota wife, he was
Speaker 1: unforgiving of the desperate Dakota's plight. Taking Indigenous women as
Speaker 1: wives was a common practice for white men. They raised
Speaker 1: their children in European American culture and cut their wives
Speaker 1: and children off from their Indigenous heritage and roots. Now
Speaker 1: Myrak had two stores in Yellow Medicine and Redwood near
Speaker 1: the Upper and Lower Sioux Agencies. The Dakota at the
Speaker 1: Upper Agency asked for help from the store owners as
Speaker 1: they waited for their annuity payments and ran low on food. Myrik,
Speaker 1: among others, declined. The Dakota tribe was left without payment
Speaker 1: until their annuity arrived, and the federal representatives showed very
Speaker 1: little concern for their survival. Despite attempts to negotiate credit
Speaker 1: extensions in exchange for direct payment to traders, the government
Speaker 1: denied the request, leaving the Dakota to face starvation. Amidst
Speaker 1: the Civil war chaos, The indigenous people's plight appears to
Speaker 1: have been disregarded by the American government. On July second
Speaker 1: of eighteen sixty two, Timothy J. Shehan, the commander of
Speaker 1: the fifth Minnesota Volunteer Regiment, arrived with his men to
Speaker 1: find that the annuity payment was still missing. The Dakota
Speaker 1: people were already struggling with hunger and deprivation and were
Speaker 1: close to losing their patients. Throughout the summer, tensions escalated,
Speaker 1: fueled by an incident involving Little Crow and Andrew Myrick.
Speaker 1: Myrek had significantly profited from the Dakota throughout the treaties
Speaker 1: that deprived them of their resources, and showed no compassion
Speaker 1: toward their struggles. So Little Crowe confronted Myrek. If the
Speaker 1: annuity was on its way and his stores were full
Speaker 1: of supplies, Myrek should be able to extend both sympathy
Speaker 1: and credit so they could get back on their feet.
Speaker 1: Myrek exploded in anger, and soon a crowd formed around them.
Speaker 1: Myrek told Little Krow that if the Dakota were hungry,
Speaker 1: they could and I quote, eat grass. The Dakota in
Speaker 1: the crowd began yelling at Myrek, but the confrontation quickly
Speaker 1: settled down. Myrek later wrote about their behavior to his brother,
Speaker 1: although of course he left out his own incendiary remarks
Speaker 1: from the letter. July came and went, and the payment
Speaker 1: had still not arrived. When a few hungry Dakota men
Speaker 1: returning from an unsuccessful hunting trip, came across a farmhouse.
Speaker 1: They argued amongst themselves about stealing some eggs, and while
Speaker 1: the details are lacking, the rumor was spread that the
Speaker 1: men killed the family inside. They reportedly also stole horses
Speaker 1: from a nearby farm, eventually traveling to Little Crow's home.
Speaker 1: A crowd gathered as the men told their story. The
Speaker 1: men said that they weren't sorry. They'd been pushed too
Speaker 1: far for too long. They had everything taken from them,
Speaker 1: and the white settlers were starving them to death. They
Speaker 1: argued that the payment might never arrive, or the money
Speaker 1: would be worthless, like everything else promised to them. The
Speaker 1: Dakota had been patient for far too long, and now
Speaker 1: it was time for war. The mood was heavy as
Speaker 1: Little Crow stood before the crowd, his face blackened and
Speaker 1: his head covered mourning. He spoke of hard truths, warning
Speaker 1: the people of the danger ahead if they went to war.
Speaker 1: He warned them that the white men were like locusts,
Speaker 1: swarming in such numbers that they could not be defeated,
Speaker 1: they would come faster than the eye could see, their
Speaker 1: guns in hand, and they would not stop until they
Speaker 1: had killed all of them. But his people didn't listen.
Speaker 1: They were too angry, too desperate. Their desire for revenge
Speaker 1: blinded them. They saw only the injustice that had been
Speaker 1: done to them, and the land that had been stolen,
Speaker 1: and the women that had been taken. They couldn't see
Speaker 1: the danger that lay ahead. The next morning, Little Crow
Speaker 1: led one hundred Dakota warriors in a silent march to
Speaker 1: the trading center at the Lower Agency. No one spoke
Speaker 1: or made a sound. They walked with purpose, their eyes
Speaker 1: fixed on their goal. When they arrived at Andrew Myrak's house,
Speaker 1: one of them knocked on the door. A man answered
Speaker 1: and was promptly shot. Hearing the commotion outside, Myrik knew
Speaker 1: who had come for him, and he quickly fled out
Speaker 1: one of his windows. He ran for the wood goods,
Speaker 1: but he couldn't escape the fury of the Dakota. His
Speaker 1: body was later found riddled with holes from bullets, knives,
Speaker 1: and arrows, But most telling of all was what they
Speaker 1: discovered in his mouth. It had been stuffed with grass.
Speaker 1: The summer of eighteen sixty two saw a violent conflict
Speaker 1: between the Dakota people and the government, resulting in hundreds
Speaker 1: of deaths and thousands of displacements. The failure to honor treaties,
Speaker 1: forced removal from their land, and inhumane treatment had pushed
Speaker 1: them to the breaking point. Yet more European American settlers
Speaker 1: continued to encroach on Dakota territory and demand payment for crops,
Speaker 1: which further impoverished the already struggling indigenous population. Minibuse, a
Speaker 1: seven year old girl living with her family about fifty
Speaker 1: miles north of Newelm, would never forget August eighteenth of
Speaker 1: eighteen sixty two. She and her brother hid in a
Speaker 1: cornfield when the Dakota attacked. Their father, still holding their
Speaker 1: three month old sister in his arms, was shot. Minnie's mother,
Speaker 1: just behind him, sat down abruptly in shock, holding Minnie's
Speaker 1: two year old sister. A bullet passed through both their bodies,
Speaker 1: killing them. All many could hear were the gunshots and
Speaker 1: the birds singing overhead. She and her remaining siblings tried
Speaker 1: to run, but were immediately captured. The Dakota warriors robbed
Speaker 1: Myrick's stores for much needed supplies, and meanwhile, Little Crow
Speaker 1: tried to spare certain people, many of them of mixed race.
Speaker 1: But word of the killing spread quickly, and the settlers,
Speaker 1: who had previously turned their backs on the Dakota desperately
Speaker 1: tried to flee. Many of them were either captured or killed.
Speaker 1: In mid August, Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsay appointed Henry H.
Speaker 1: Sibley to colonel within the state militia, but fighting against
Speaker 1: the Dakota would be a difficult task for sibly he
Speaker 1: had traded with them for almost a quarter of a century,
Speaker 1: He spoke the language, had been adopted into a band
Speaker 1: of Dakota's, had a Dakota child, and knew Little Crow personally.
Speaker 1: Little Crow, on the other hand, began a campaign to
Speaker 1: drive the settlers out of the region and reclaimed Dakota homeland.
Speaker 1: They reached New Ulm on August nineteenth, where they found
Speaker 1: the town on high alert. Residents had hastily erected wooden
Speaker 1: barricades to defend themselves. The Dakota arrived in the afternoon,
Speaker 1: but Little Crow and his supporters wanted to focus on
Speaker 1: Fort Ridgeley. Nearly one hundred warriors disagreed and continued on
Speaker 1: to New Ulm, leaving the rest to watch and wait.
Speaker 1: The fighting began on the outlying farms, many of which
Speaker 1: were burned, but a heavy downpour put out some of
Speaker 1: the fires and drove away the warriors. On August twenty third,
Speaker 1: the Dakota returned to Newelm. Little Crow led the attack
Speaker 1: with six hundred and fifty warriors. The battle took twenty
Speaker 1: four hours. It was the only time Native Americans surrounded
Speaker 1: and laid siege to a Western town. New Olm's residence
Speaker 1: worked hard to aid the wounded, to craft more ammunition,
Speaker 1: and to defend their town. The Dakota hesitated to attack,
Speaker 1: possibly fearing the trap, but army reinforcements arrived the next day,
Speaker 1: repelling the Dakota before they could take over the settlement entirely.
Speaker 1: The town, though, was burned and ruined, with thirty four
Speaker 1: dead and sixty injured. Over one hundred and fifty wagons
Speaker 1: carrying approximately two thousand people, including women, children, and wounded,
Speaker 1: had been evacuated. In early September, General Sibley attempted to
Speaker 1: persuade Little Crow to surrender. Little Crow explained the reasons
Speaker 1: for the war and expressed his willingness to release prisoners,
Speaker 1: but he would not surrender. However, two other leaders, Chiefs
Speaker 1: Wabashaw and Talpi, who had opposed the war, were willing
Speaker 1: to discuss surrender as the war had caused division within
Speaker 1: the tribe. The conflict lasted for weeks, and with many
Speaker 1: men away fighting in the Civil War, there was a
Speaker 1: constant lack of supplies and fighters on the part of
Speaker 1: the U. S. Army. They continued to request help from
Speaker 1: Lincoln and army superiors. It finally on September sixth of
Speaker 1: eighteen sixty two, Lincoln formed the Department of the Northwest
Speaker 1: and appointed General John Pope to command it. When troops
Speaker 1: were ready to ship out, they were sent to the front.
Speaker 1: Despite battles and victories being traded back and forth, it
Speaker 1: wasn't until September twenty sixth that the main body of
Speaker 1: Dakota Warriors surrendered. They had been decisively defeated in the
Speaker 1: Battle of Woodlake and their ammunition was running low. Along
Speaker 1: with them were more than two hundred and fifty European,
Speaker 1: American and mixed blood prisoners that the Dakota Warriors had captured.
Speaker 1: Little Crow and a few other soldiers managed to escape. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: prisoners like Little Minibuse were found and reunited with surviving family.
Speaker 1: At least, it seemed life would finally settle down. Sadly,
Speaker 1: the backlash that followed against every single Indigenous person in
Speaker 1: Minnesota was hideous. Regardless of whether or not they had
Speaker 1: participated in the attacks, No one escaped untouched. The US
Speaker 1: Dakota War of eighteen sixty two was a tragic episode
Speaker 1: in American history. They marked one of the first times
Speaker 1: that settlers in Minnesota faced the consequences of their actions
Speaker 1: against the Dakota people, but the war had devastating effects
Speaker 1: on both the settlers and their Indigenous neighbors. The sensationalized
Speaker 1: accounts of the war that were published in newspapers across
Speaker 1: the country spread quickly, describing inaccurate atrocities such as scalping
Speaker 1: and children being nailed to trees and fences. Outrage was widespread,
Speaker 1: and people demanded action. Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsay used the
Speaker 1: massacre as an excuse to pursue what states and federal
Speaker 1: officials had long wanted to do. He declared that the
Speaker 1: Native Americans of Minnesota must be exterminated or at least
Speaker 1: driven far beyond the state's borders. A report from the
Speaker 1: Interior Department followed, suggesting any means necessary for the driving
Speaker 1: out of the Dakota, including and I quote, extermination, massacre, banishment, torture,
Speaker 1: killing with smallpox, poison, and kindness. As a result, indigenous
Speaker 1: tribes in Minnesota were rounded up and put into concentration camps.
Speaker 1: Trials began at camp release in November of eighteen sixty two.
Speaker 1: More than three hundred Dakota men were sentenced to death.
Speaker 1: A legal representation for them was denied, and each trial
Speaker 1: rarely lasted more than just a few minutes. General Sibley
Speaker 1: wanted to execute them immediately, but he was concerned about
Speaker 1: presidential approval. He sought permission from Lincoln, who called a
Speaker 1: halt to the proceedings and requested information on those who
Speaker 1: had committed the most heinous crimes. Lincoln understood that many
Speaker 1: of the convicted had not even participated in the massacres,
Speaker 1: but were only guilty of resisting US armed forces. Lincoln's
Speaker 1: decision to uphold only thirty nine convictions and commute the
Speaker 1: rest angered settlers in Minnesota and beyond. On December twenty
Speaker 1: sixth of eighteen sixty two, the government hanged thirty eight Dakota,
Speaker 1: making it the largest single execution in American history, and
Speaker 1: the men whose sentences he commuted were sent to Iowa's
Speaker 1: Camp McClellan, where they remained for four years. But Minnesota
Speaker 1: officials weren't satisfied with Lincoln's actions. They killed, banished, and
Speaker 1: imprisoned any Indigenous peoples found within their borders. Hundreds of
Speaker 1: friendly Indigenous people who had never raised a hand against them,
Speaker 1: were marched from Camp Release to Fort Snelling, but along
Speaker 1: the way, furious white settlers attacked them. About three hundred
Speaker 1: died from exposure, illness, and injury. Nearly sixteen hundred Native
Speaker 1: American women, children, and elderly were held on Pike Island
Speaker 1: during the winter of eighteen sixty two to sixty three.
Speaker 1: Disease quickly spread throughout the camp, killing hundreds. More treaties
Speaker 1: were nullified, reservation land was seized, and nearly two thousand
Speaker 1: Indigenous people were exiled in Dakota Territory in Nebraska. In
Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three, General Sibley led the final push to
Speaker 1: expel any remaining Dakota from the state, and nearly one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty people were taken prisoner. A group of
Speaker 1: two hundred Yankton men, women and children, people who had
Speaker 1: never participated in the war but had simply camped in
Speaker 1: Dakota Territory were slaughtered. Governor Ramsay even declared a bounty
Speaker 1: of twenty five dollars for every Dakota scalp. The news
Speaker 1: quickly spread through newspapers, with some even publishing ads promoting
Speaker 1: the increased state reward for dead Native Americans. Volunteers eagerly
Speaker 1: answered the call, driving out and killing any Dakota they found.
Speaker 1: It was an order that remained in effect for over
Speaker 1: five years, and it was this government sponsored vigilante movement
Speaker 1: that ultimately led to the death of Little Crow himself,
Speaker 1: who was shot in the back for one of those
Speaker 1: cheap rewards. After that, his scalp was put on display
Speaker 1: in the state capitol, an act of barber that sounds
Speaker 1: more like something out of the thirteen sixties than the
Speaker 1: eighteen sixties, and even worse, it remained there until nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy one. I hope you've noticed by now that there's
Speaker 1: more to the Wild West than cowboys on horseback, poker
Speaker 1: games in whiskey soak saloons, and deadly shootouts at high noon.
Speaker 1: But while stories of the conflict between indigenous peoples and
Speaker 1: those who are out to steal their land are a
Speaker 1: lot more painful to learn about, they are necessary pieces
Speaker 1: of the larger picture. I hope today's journey through that
Speaker 1: territory has helped you form a better understanding of the
Speaker 1: nuance and the deeper sense of pain that conflict caused.
Speaker 1: But we're not done just yet. Stick around through this
Speaker 1: brief sponsor break to hear one more tragic tale at
Speaker 1: the meeting place of two cultures, the Ponka tribes.
Speaker 2: My history is a familiar tale of an indigenous community
Speaker 2: struggle for survival and acknowledgment amidst a rapidly changing world.
Speaker 2: The Ponca were a small tribe residing in northeastern Nebraska.
Speaker 2: They were forced to sell their ancestral lands to the
Speaker 2: United States government in the early eighteen hundreds in exchange
Speaker 2: for a fifty eight thousand acre reserve between Ponca Creek
Speaker 2: and the Neobrara River. Despite this land grant, the Ponka
Speaker 2: lived in constant fear as attacks from La Cota bands
Speaker 2: regularly occurred, and the United States government did very little
Speaker 2: to protect them. Their leader. Standing Baar was born between
Speaker 2: eighteen twenty nine and eighteen thirty four and grew up
Speaker 2: in an environment of unrelenting strife due to the United
Speaker 2: States government's unfair treaties. In addition to the raids, a
Speaker 2: smallpock epidemic swept in in the early eighteen hundreds and
Speaker 2: decimated the tribe, forcing them into an agricultural lifestyle. The
Speaker 2: Ponca faced further challenges in the eighteen fifties when white
Speaker 2: settlers decided they actually did want their land and overran
Speaker 2: the territory. They were pressured to sell their lands to
Speaker 2: the United States. Again. The land they were forced to
Speaker 2: relocate to was unsuitable for farming and raising livestock, and
Speaker 2: in eighteen sixty eight, the US government mistakenly included the
Speaker 2: Punka's territory in a land agreement with the Lakota, which
Speaker 2: again led to Lakota raiding on their lands. As a result,
Speaker 2: the government decided to resolve the conflict by relocating the
Speaker 2: Punkah to Indian territory in Oklahoma. Standing Baar was a
Speaker 2: grown man at the time of the forced march and
Speaker 2: was married to his wife's Zette, with whom he had
Speaker 2: two children, Prairie Flower and Bear Shield. In eighteen seventy six,
Speaker 2: the Ponkas were informed that they would have to relocate,
Speaker 2: and Standing Bear was among the ten chiefs who embarked
Speaker 2: on a journey to find new land. They were not
Speaker 2: impressed with what they saw. Unfortunately, the United States government
Speaker 2: had already decided they didn't really care about the tribe's welfare,
Speaker 2: and on April twelfth, eighteen seventy seven, an order was
Speaker 2: issued to reforce their removal. The military escorted the Punkah
Speaker 2: on a grueling march to what they called the Hot Country.
Speaker 2: Many people died during the journey, including Standing Bear's daughter,
Speaker 2: Prairie Flower, and shortly after their arrival, his son Bear Shield.
Speaker 2: According to Punka historians, Standing Behar was unwilling to bury
Speaker 2: his son in Oklahoma. Along with a party of about
Speaker 2: thirty people, he traveled some six hundred miles in the
Speaker 2: middle of winter back to Nebraska and their ancestral lands
Speaker 2: with his son's body, intent on burying him there. The
Speaker 2: United States government did not allow indigenous peoples to leave
Speaker 2: Indian territory without their permission, and Standing Behar did not
Speaker 2: have a pass. As a result, the Secretary of the
Speaker 2: Interior Karl Schultz, ordered General George Crook to arrest Chief
Speaker 2: Standing Bear and his companions and forced them back to
Speaker 2: Indian territory. They were imprisoned at Fort Omaha Barracks. Although
Speaker 2: General Crook had previously fought against Native Americans, he found
Speaker 2: himself sympathetic to the Punka's situation. He went to the media,
Speaker 2: which helped spread the story of Standing Bear and his
Speaker 2: fellow prisoners nationwide. Two lawyers offered to represent them pro
Speaker 2: bono and requested that a judge release the Punkah immediately.
Speaker 2: Judge Elmer Dundee, who had relevant experience, agreed to hear
Speaker 2: the case presented by Standing Bear's attorneys John L. Webster
Speaker 2: and Andrew L. Poppleton. After a tense hearing, the decision
Speaker 2: was in Standing Bear's favor and was a significant turning
Speaker 2: point for Native Americans in the United States. For the
Speaker 2: very first time, the court recognized that Indigenous people were
Speaker 2: actually people entitled to the same legal rights and protections
Speaker 2: as any other citizen. This ruling was a significant victory
Speaker 2: for Indigenous peoples who had been denied their rights and
Speaker 2: and their humanity for so long. Standingbear's case had a
Speaker 2: more extensive impact beyond the legal realm. It symbolized hope
Speaker 2: and inspiration for Native Americans who fought for equality and recognition.
Speaker 2: Standingbear's bravery and determination in the face of injustice inspired
Speaker 2: generations of Indigenous people to stand up for their rights
Speaker 2: and fight for their dignity. Indigenous people across the world
Speaker 2: still face numerous challenges and obstacles. They continue to fight
Speaker 2: for recognition, land rights, and respect for their cultures and traditions.
Speaker 2: Standingbear's story is a testament to the resilience and strength
Speaker 2: of Indigenous people. His legacy reminds us of the ongoing
Speaker 2: struggle for justice and equality for all peoples.
Speaker 1: Grim and Maud Presents The Wild West was executive produced
Speaker 1: by me Aaron Manky and hosted by Aaron Mankey and
Speaker 1: Alexandra Steed. Writing for this season was provided by Michelle Mudo,
Speaker 1: with research by Alexandra Steed, Sam Alberty, Kasan Alba and
Speaker 1: Harry Marks. Fact checking was performed by Jamie Vargas, with
Speaker 1: sensitivity reading by Stacy Parshall Jensen. Production assistance was provided
Speaker 1: by Josh Stain, Jesse Funk, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick.
Speaker 1: To learn more about this and other shows from Grim
Speaker 1: and Mild and iHeartRadio visit Grimandmild dot com.