The Red Wing Human Rights Commission is supportive of the Prairie Island Indian Community’s efforts to have a noose used in a 1862 mass hanging returned to the Dakota people. 

Members of the commission are drafting a letter to the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) supporting Prairie Island’s repatriation claim and the commission plans to vote on the letter at its next meeting. The commission also plans to vote on recommending the Red Wing City Council send a letter to MNHS in support of Prairie Island’s repatriation claim. 

The noose was used to hang Wicanhpi Wastedanpi, also known as Chaske, in the mass hanging of 38 Dakota men on Dec. 26, 1862, according to the Prairie Island Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Prairie Island submitted a repatriation claim to MNHS Feb. 29 and the tribe is requesting the noose be returned immediately to the Dakota people.

MNHS has until May 28 to make a decision on the repatriation claim. MNHS is required by law to hold consultations with tribes who request to be part of the process and two Dakota tribes have notified MNHS that they want to consult on the claim, MNHS said April 26 in a statement. It didn’t name the two tribes. 

“It is with deep respect for Dakota Tribal Nation sovereignty that these discussions will be held,” MNHS said in the statement.

Red Wing commission discussion

The Red Wing Human Rights Commission’s discussion at its April 25 workshop about the history of the noose and Prairie Island’s repatriation claim brought up strong emotions among its members. Commission Chair Michael Lickness Holmes called it “one of the most powerful meetings” he has taken part in. 

Commissioner Kathy LeMieux said she was trying not to cry during her description of the Dakota’s attempts to have the noose returned over the years. Only a couple of generations separate the Dakota people impacted by the hanging in 1862 and the Dakota people today, she said.

“People keep saying it’s all ancient history… No, it isn’t. We’re not talking about Mesopotamia,” she said.

She said they’re hoping the MNHS feels enough pressure from the public to resolve the repatriation claim in a respectful way. 

“The lynchings in this country over time and people dragged behind cars and tortured – things that people want to close their eyes to … people need to be reminded so things don’t happen again. This wasn’t that long ago,” she said. 

Holmes said he felt it when he listened to the description of the mass hanging of the Dakota men in 1862 and he wants to be a strong supporter of Prairie Island’s repatriation claim. He described how as a young child growing up in Arkansas, he saw his great-great-grandfather’s body hanging from a tree. 

“I’m 44 years old, but I can still remember seeing that image every day that I go to sleep. I wake up to seeing my great-great-grandfather hanging,” he said.