Minnesota Massacre

The Sioux Tribe, in a treaty with the US government, stayed on the reservation land and did not hunt. In exchange, the US government promised to pay them gold to buy food from the local traders. There are mixed accounts of how many yearly payments for the land the Sioux left were missed by the United States Government. Some sources say two, while others express three years of missed payments, which broke the treaty with the Sioux. There are also accounts that the money paid to the Sioux tribe was not the amount agreed upon for the cost of the land. After the treaty had been created, the annuity payment amounts were put in the United States Treasury. It is said that what money the Sioux were paid was only the interest generated from those funds placed in the Treasury, meaning the United States never paid the Sioux for the land.

Because of the missed payments the Sioux were starving because they had no money to buy food. One statement from a Sioux man, Dean Blue, even suggested white farmers went onto Sioux reservation land to take resources and food. Because the tribe was starving, four men went out to find food. After an unsuccessful hunt on their land, these men attempted to steal some eggs. Five settlers were killed. The men went back to the village for protection, and Chief Little Crow was urged to start a war with the White men. The Sioux were tired of being taken advantage of and used with the US government not upholding the treaty to the point of starvation of their families while expecting the tribes to follow the treaty. With the Civil War also occurring at this time, the Sioux believed they had the advantage. This led to the “Minnesota Massacre” or the “Sioux Uprising of 1862”. The fighting lasted about a month; many were killed. Chief Little Crow’s camp escaped westward.