Hope

Peter Lengkeek, a citizen of the Hunkpati Dakota Oyate and Tribal Chair of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, has long advocated for his people while remembering and honoring his ancestor, who was hanged in Mankato in 1862. He speaks of hope and of reconciliation, unity, peace, and harmony as central to being Dakota. Each year, horseback riders travel from Lower Brule, South Dakota, toward Mankato, with others joining from places including Canada, Montana, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and even Austria, while runners gather at Fort Snelling and relay to Mankato. The groups meet at Reconciliation Park in Mankato on December 26, the anniversary of the day the U.S. military hanged 38 Dakota men in 1862. The journey honors their legacy and also remembers two Dakota leaders executed by the military at Fort Snelling a few years later.

Minnesota · United States