RCHS – Sources

From the Commonplace Book:

A note on primary sources from the team of the Bdote Memory Map:

“Many of the primary resources that present Dakota history and identity, and US-Indian relations, are based on assumptions that not only arise from non-Dakota perspective, but actively exclude any indigenous perspective. Challenging these assumptions is much more than a matter of political correctness; it is a requirement for any accurate understanding of our past. For instance, the origin of the Dakota War has often been presented as an incident in which Dakota youth killed a farm family, an event that somehow sparked a violent territory-wide conflict that necessitated the punishment of all Dakota people. Such a portrayal, illogical though it may be, makes sense from a specific cultural perspective; and only from that perspective. In using any historical resource, it is important to question the perspective from which the resource is created, and how that perspective shapes the presentation of facts. These resources are only a beginning, an initial supplement to the introductory information in this site. Sources with a Dakota point of view are rare. Most of these resources express information from a dominant culture point of view. For example, “This region was acquired by the U.S. government by treaty in 1805.” The word “acquired” is clearly not chosen by a Dakota writer.”

“Learn More | Bdote Memory Map.” Accessed June 2, 2023. https://bdotememorymap.org/learn-more/.

Many of the available sources containing information on the Dakota living in Faribault after the war of 1862 are not written by Dakota authors. We want to emphasize that the sources we have compiled in connection with this map must be viewed with a critical lens.

Link to spreadsheet containing map bibliography. (permissions limited pending approval by partners)

Other mapping projects we consulted:

General overviews of Dakota history in Minnesota:

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