The execution of 38 Dakota men in Mankato, Minnesota, on December 26, 1862, was authorized by president Abraham Lincoln. Drawing from Library of Congress
The remains of a Dakota man who was one of 38 executed after the Dakota War of 1862 were kept in a private home for decades. According to columnist Tim Krohn, they were recently removed but their current location is unknown:
The mistreatment of Native Americans in the mid- to late-1800s didn't always end with their banishment or even death. Tribes today, aided some by federal legislation, continue to track down and reclaim skeletal remains and even skin of Indians that ended up in museums, universities and private collections. One particularly painful chapter was the treatment of remains after 38 Dakota were hanged in Mankato in 1862. The bodies were put in a shallow grave by the nearby Minnesota River. That night their bodies were dug up for use in anatomical studies — a practice not unusual at the time. The remains went to doctors, including Dr. William Mayo, father of the brothers who founded the Mayo Clinic. Only the remains of one of the 38 — Cut Nose — has been recovered and reburied by Native Americans. Two other Native American remains believed to be of the 38 have also been recovered, but never identified. Now it appears a full skeleton of one of the 38 has been quietly displayed in a Mankato home for decades until recently being moved to the Twin Cities.Get the Story:
Tim Krohn: Dakota 38 skeleton long resided in Mankato (The Mankato Free Press 11/23)
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