Gwen Westerman and Bruce White, Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota. U.S. – Dakota War

Instructions:

For this unit, you will be learning the history of the Dakota people in Minnesota by reading our first textbook, Mni Sota Makoce.

Our theme for this unit is “Master Stories.” See page 6 of the book for a description.

Enduring Understanding:

History can become a contentious dispute between groups of people. Because our history informs who we are, sometimes conflicts arise over control of the “narrative.” As historians, we must be careful in how we approach our sources of information, striving both for factual accuracy as well as empathy for the people involved and their descendants.

Contrary to popular belief, the history that is presented in textbooks and encyclopedia articles is not “objective,” nor is it “neutral.” Rather, it reflects the perspective and values of the historian who wrote it, as well as the perspectives and values of the primary sources (historical documents and artifacts) the historian used to construct their narratives. On the topic of the Dakota in Minnesota, most of the histories written reflect the perspective of white historians, who are mainly using historical documents produced by white settlers – first French, then later British and American. The voices of the Dakota people themselves are often missing from these historical accounts. Our book, Mni Sota Makoce, is an attempt to share history from the Dakota perspective, using primary sources and oral histories produced by Dakota people.

Essential Questions:

Whose history is this? How can historians balance the different narrative perspectives when history becomes contentious? How can we evaluate and interpret our sources of information?

Required Reading:

You will read the following book in its entirety, including the Introduction (probably the most important part of the book):

Westerman, Gwen and Bruce White. Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012.

You can purchase this from the Normandale book store.

While reading, you should be taking notes that will help you complete the assignment below. To help you read more quickly, efficiently, and take useful notes, watch the following instructional video on Active Reading and Note Taking Skills:

https://mediaspace.minnstate.edu/media/ActiveReadingAndNoteTaking/1_e1lty1jc

Show data table for This chart displays the number of completed topics versus the total number of topics within module Mni Sota Makoce (Book)..

List of Topics and Sub-Modules for Mni Sota Makoce (Book)

• Mni Sota Makoce Assessment

  For this assignment, you will have the option of choosing between possible essay topics. You only need to do ONE of the two topics, not both. Regardless of which one you choose, your essay should be about 1,000 to 1,500 words (2 to 3 pages single spaced), and cite evidence from the relevant sources.

  Use the following citation for Mni Sota Makoce in your footnotes:

  Gwen Westerman and Bruce White, Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012), page

  Option 1: Book Review

  For this option, you will be reviewing the book Mni Sota Makoce. Write an essay answering the following:

  1. Evaluate the Perspective: was it appropriate for the authors to focus solely on the Dakota perspective? What were the benefits and drawbacks of this approach (cite specifics from the book)
  2. Evaluate the use of Oral History: Was the book’s use of oral history valid or did it place too much credibility on the oral accounts? Why do you think so (give specific evidence)?
  3. Would you recommend this book for learning history? Why? Focus on reasons related to the study of history.

option 2: U.S. – Dakota War

For this option, you will be relying primarily on the additional sources presented during this week of class. Write an essay answering the following

1. What do you think were the main causes of the conflict? Cite specific events mentioned in the sources.
2. Consider the aftermath of the war: were the actions of the U.S. justifiable? Why or why not? Cite specific events and pieces of evidence.
3. Was this conflict “inevitable” or avoidable? Give evidence to support your conclusion (e.g. consider instances of prior conflict or cooperation between the Dakota and Euro-Americans).

Use the following sources to assist you with Option 2:

The US-Dakota War of 1862, Minnesota Historical Society, accessed on date, https://www.usdakotawar.org/

Wamditanka, A Sioux Story of the War: Chief Big Eagle’s Story of the Sioux Outbreak of 1862 (Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1894), page number. Accessed from The Internet Archive on date, https://archive.org/details/siouxstoryofwarc00wamdrich/page/n3/mode/2up

Taoyateduta, “Taoyateduta Is Not a Coward” (Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1962), accessed on date, http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/38/v38i03p115-115.pdf