Category Archives: Primary Sources

1863 SCC Claim No. 289: In the matter of Ernst Dietrich deceased

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Carrie Zeman

In July 2013, almost 150 years after the Sioux Claims Commission convened hearings in Minnesota and recorded her testimony, Pauline Dietrich spoke again. The story of Ernst Dietrich, told by his widow Pauline, was the first of 2,940 lost stories … Continue reading →

Posted in National Archives, Primary Sources | 1 Comment

Whatever 3

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Carrie Zeman

Monday, March 25, 2019, I had the pleasure of preaching to a choir –follow historians and history advocates at the Minnesota History Whatever 3. Stephen Osman, now-retired from his position as Senior Historian at the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS), and … Continue reading →

Posted in National Archives, Primary Sources | 2 Comments

30 + 12 = 42, not 39

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

I’m working on my Peace Colaition presentation at MHS January 29, but can’t escape the stories of the 39 Dakota men condemned to death in 1862. A new friend I met in Redwood falls this summer, Molly Schweinfurter, just mailed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1862 Dakota War trials, Primary Sources | Leave a comment

Whitewashing History, Part I

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

“Tom Sawyer Whitewashing the Fence” by Norman Rockwell (detail) So: What is wrong with Justina Kriegher’s stories? Not much, if we take them as they are: as stories. Quite a bit if we take them as we have: as history. … Continue reading →

Posted in Commemorating Controversy, Doing Historical Research, Primary Sources, truth-telling | 3 Comments

The Dakota Prisoners’ Caregivers

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Real life is never as cut and dried as histories make it seem. The stories of the Dakota Women’s March to Fort Snelling, and of the Prisoners’ March to South Bend in November 1862 are great examples. Although the majority … Continue reading →

Posted in Dakota Commemorative March, Primary Sources | 18 Comments

Hot Water, Part 2

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

“They were coming to the end of the town and they thought they were out of trouble. Then there was a big building at the end of the street. Someone threw hot, scalding water on them. The children were all … Continue reading →

Posted in Dakota Commemorative March, Doing Historical Research, Indian Hating, Primary Sources, truth-telling | Tagged | Leave a comment

Hot Water

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Henderson, Minnesota Few stories tell us as much about the mindset of Minnesotans in the wake of the 1862 war. Or how little we know today about who we were then. Dakota people told us first. It took years of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dakota Commemorative March, Indian Hating, Primary Sources, truth-telling | 1 Comment

A Scheme for Revenge

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

“The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah! Kill every Indian, papoose and squaw; The Indians must be slain or driven to the plain And silence the war whoop forever.” — rendition of “The Battle Cry of Freedom” attributed to soldiers in Minnesota, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commemorating Controversy, Dakota Commemorative March, Indian Hating, Primary Sources, truth-telling | Tagged | 1 Comment

Soldiers “Trysting” in the Dakota Camp

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

“…I did not drill to day was sick –feel better to night –nothing of importance –another bans read on dress parade that there should be  no more Trysting with the Squaws it made the boys a little mad as there … Continue reading →

Posted in Dakota Commemorative March, Doing Historical Research, Indian Hating, Primary Sources, truth-telling | Tagged | 2 Comments

“Let the Sioux Race be Annihilated”

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Unexpectedly, on August 18, 1862, Abraham J. Van Vorhes, editor of the Stillwater Messenger and member of the Stillwater (Washington County, Minnesota) militia home guard, became a Dakota War correspondent. Deputized by Superintendent of Indian Affairs Clark W. Thompson to … Continue reading →

Posted in Commemorating Controversy, Dakota Commemorative March, Primary Sources | Tagged | 3 Comments