Little Crow

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Taoyateduta, also known as the Little Crow
Little Crow, 1862
Little Crow negotiating the Traverse des Sioux Treaty, 1851
Historic Lower Sioux Agency warehouse
The burning Fort Ridgely during the siege by the Sioux
Sculpture of the Indian chief in Minneapolis

Little Crow , German  Little Crow , real name Thaóyate Duta (* 1810 in Kaposia near South St. Paul , Minnesota ; † July 3, 1863 in Big Woods near Hutchinson , Minnesota) was a chief of the Mdewakanton , Dakota - Sioux Indians. Little Crow was one of the signatories to the Treaty of Mendota in 1851 , when the Santee-Sioux sold much of their tribal territory in what is now the state of Minnesota to the United States for $ 1,410,000. In return, they received a reservation , the Lower Sioux Agency in Minnesota and the promise of annual payments and deliveries of goods. As a result, the influential chief tried to turn his Dakota Indians into settled farmers. He was one of the leaders of the Sioux uprising of 1862. Little Crow was shot and killed on July 3, 1863 by a white settler.

Life

Thaóyate Duta was born in Kaposia, a Dakota Indian settlement near South St. Paul, Minnesota on the Mississippi River . His father died in 1846 after accidentally unloading his gun. He inherited his office from his father and grandfather. Before that, however, there was an armed fight with his own brother, who had also claimed the status of chief. He was injured in both wrists by bullets. Since then he has always wore shirts with long sleeves to hide the scars. In 1849 he took over the chieftainship from his brother and with it the responsibility for the 2000 Santee Dakota Indians of his tribe.

In 1851, the Santee Sioux sold much of their tribal territory to the United States for $ 1,410,000. In return, they received the Lower Sioux Agency reservation along the Minnesota River and the promise of annual payments of 5% of the sales price over 50 years and deliveries of goods (see the Mendota contract ). Of the 1.4 million, only $ 220,000 was paid out immediately. Of this, the Indian chiefs actually received only $ 20,000. Much of it was paid out to white traders to pay off debts. Not all agreed with the signing of the chief's treaties and policies. Little Crow tried to adapt himself and his people to the lifestyle and culture of the white settlers. He visited President James Buchanan in Washington . He bought cattle and tried to change the diet of his people. The white settlers had wiped out a large part of the wild animals in the surrounding forests, and the hunters were starving in their reserve. Little Crow was baptized and became a member of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America . Mostly he wore western clothing such as long pants and long-sleeved shirts.

The Indian reservation was further reduced by the signing of treaties in Washington in 1858 when Minnesota was admitted as a state to the United States. They ceded an area ten miles wide on the north bank of Minnesota to the United States. Their territory no longer offered enough space for the Indians to fend for themselves, leaving them completely dependent on government payments and white traders. Government payments, on the other hand, have always suffered greatly from corruption in the Bureau of Indian Affairs .

In 1861 the situation of the Indians worsened. A bad harvest forced them to buy food on credit from the vendors and go into debt. In 1862, the US government's payments were also delayed due to the Civil War (Washington was unsure whether the annual payments should be made in gold or in the new greenbacks .)

After the money was not due on July 1, 1862, several thousand hungry Sioux moved to the Upper Sioux Agency in Yellow Medicine on August 4, 1862 and demanded food. The responsible Indian agent Thomas J. Galbraith denied the Indians food on credit and instead brought 100 soldiers to guard the warehouse. White Merchants Representative Andrew Myrick said at a convened meeting, "If you are hungry then just eat grass." Little Crow, however, said: "Hungry men help themselves when they are forced to." The meeting ended with a compromise. At the insistence of the soldiers , some food was given out from the agency's warehouse. The Indians withdrew to their villages after the Indian agent promised to hand over more food in the future.

On August 15, 1862, the reservation residents asked the white merchant Andrew Myrick a second time to sell groceries on credit. The dealer refused again. To the Galbraith present he is said to have said "In my opinion you should eat grass or your own excrement when you are hungry". It is controversial whether this sentence really happened that day. It is undisputed that Andrew Myrick made the statement in the Upper Sioux Agency in Yellow Medicine on August 4th. He was known as a quick-tempered, quick-tempered man. The Dakota on the reservation called him "Wacinco" which means "hot head".

Since neither the Indian agent nor the white traders gave out food on credit, Little Crow was deposed as chief by disaffected members of the tribe. Traveling Hail was elected to succeed.

The payments due to the Indians had arrived in Minnesota's capital St. Paul on August 16, 1862, and were forwarded to Fort Ridgely on August 17 . But the payments came too late. On the same day, four Dakota warriors in search of food murdered five white settlers. A council of war convened after the murder decided to carry out further attacks on the white settlements and asked the newly deposed chief Little Crow to lead them. Although he knew that the whites had unlimited resources and that they really had no chance, he agreed to lead the uprising.

On August 18, 1862, Indians led by Little Crow stormed the Lower Sioux Agency. Andrew Myrick tried to escape by climbing through a window on the second floor of the agency's warehouse. He was later found dead with grass in his mouth. The Indians burned the agency down. Much of the whites escaped by ferry across the Minnesota River. Alarmed units from B Company of the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, a Minnesota state militia led by Captain John Marsh, rushed to the rescue but were defeated by the Indians in the Battle of Redwood Ferry. 24 militiamen died, including their leader. In the course of the day several white settlements in the Minnesota Valley were burned down and most of the inhabitants were killed.

On August 20, Little Crow and 400 of his fighters attempted to take Fort Ridgely. The attack failed. On August 22nd he attempted another attack, this time with 1,000 fighters. Little Crow was wounded by a cannonball. Until September 23, individual groups of the Indians raided further settlements in Minnesota and besieged the German-speaking settlement of New Ulm in vain until they were defeated in the battle of "Wood Lake" and the uprising ended. Little Crow was unable to participate in these fighting due to his injuries. About 1200 Indians surrendered after the battle and released their prisoners.

Six weeks after the uprising ended, 392 Dakota were tried in military tribunals . In trials, some of which lasted only five minutes, 303 of them were sentenced to death for rape and murder . Against this, however, there was protest, including from the Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Minnesota, Henry Whipple . Whipple even went to Washington to plead for mercy from President Abraham Lincoln . In fact, Lincoln chose to commute most of the death sentences to prison terms. He only upheld the convictions of those found to have been found to have been raped and murdered by civilians.

On December 26, 1862, 38 Dakota were publicly hanged in the largest mass execution in American history in Mankato . However, Chief Little Crow was still at large.

He had fled to other Sioux groups on the prairie with some loyal followers and decided to adopt the nomadic way of life of the prairie Indians. He tried to steal horses in his former home. On July 3, 1863, he was collecting berries with his son Wowinapa, where he was shot by the white farmer Nathan Lamson and his son Chauncey. The body of the initially unknown Indian was brought to Hutchinson and dragged through the main street of Hutchinson and desecrated. The head of the corpse was cut off and the body buried in a grave.

It was only when his son Wowinapa was arrested by the US Army on July 28, 1863 that the identity of the unknown Indian could be clarified. He was identified by the scars on his wrists. Nathan Lamson was then paid the $ 400 bounty on Little Crow . Little Crow left behind six women and 22 children.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. The fourth signature on the contract according to L. Lea., Alex. Ramsey and Med-ay-wa-kan-toans.
  2. Contract text in English
  3. Archived copy ( Memento of the original from May 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Wahpekute agreed to pay traders $ 90,000. The Mdewakanton paid $ 70,000 and were given $ 20,000 which was shared between seven chiefs. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mnopedia.org
  4. ^ 1858 Land Cession Treaties with the Dakota
  5. ^ Alvin M. Josephy: The Civil War in the American West. Knopf, New York 1991, p. 107.
  6. ^ Richard H. Dillon: North American Indian Wars . Booksales, 1920, pp. 126 .
  7. Kent D. Myrick: Andrew Jackson Myrick. In: Find A Grave. Retrieved on May 9, 2016 (English): "But another side of his persona is emphasized by the Indians' name for him, Wacinco, which meant" hothead "."
  8. ^ Karen M. Strom: Timeline of Events Relevant to the Northern Plains Tribes. Retrieved December 1, 2003 : "August 18, 1862 - Beginning of the Sioux Uprising (or Santee War) in Minnesota"
  9. Kathy Weiser-Alexander: Sioux War of 1862. In: Legends of America. Retrieved May 9, 2016 : “Most settlers in the Minnesota River Valley had no experience with warring Indians. Those who did not flee to a fort or defended settlement fast enough were at the Indians' mercy. The Sioux killed most of the settlers they encountered but often made captives of the women and children "
  10. Benjamin Capps (ed.): The Indians. Time-Life, Amsterdam 1994, p. 176.