Back in February, my wife Robbie and I did the candlelight walk at Fort Snelling State Park under a bright moon. I was thrilled to see that park’s visitor center, AKA the Thomas C. Savage Interpretive Center, has a fabulous display on the Dakota Conflict Concentration Camp, the prison camp where hundreds of Mdewakanton Dakota were imprisoned at Ft. Snelling during the winter following the 1862 Dakota War.
Click the photo thumbnails to enlarge. The photos of displays with descriptive text pop up to versions large enough to read.
[...] at Mankato after that war ended but not many of us (including me, until recently) know about the concentration camp at Fort Snelling (it’s usually referred to an ‘internment camp’) where nearly 2,000 Dakota (mainly [...]
Thanks for this excellent information.
You’re welcome, Holly. Glad you took time to visit. Spread the word!
[...] – to my horror – that Fort Snelling here in Minnesota, less than 15 minutes from my home, has a great exhibit on the concentration camp for Dakotas during the wars that resulted in Minnesota sta…. Why horror? Because nobody knows about it, and the exhibit is barely being promoted in [...]
I have known of genocide among our native peoples, however this information is new to me. How very informative and interesting. Yet our people live strong!
Glad to be of help, Theresa. Spread the word!
Omygod…I see my own Renville family listed 3 times on this concentration camp list. I only knew of Gabriel’s involvement before.
Hi Valerie,
I read six Renville names! Is that what you meant? What a terrible black spot on Minnesota’s history.
Of course, there are six Renvilles listed. My attention was entirely taken by the listing of Joseph. there may have been more than one Joseph Renville at that time though. My forefather Joseph Akipa (b. Francois), son of Joseph of Lac la Parle, was born in Pembina and died 1866 by the hand of Sioux in Pembina Territory while carrying mail from Pembina to St.Paul, so could be a different Joseph. or…the family story is still not fully told.
Valerie
Wow, those are famous names. You go way back! Sorry to hear about the killing. I can see why the Sioux would have been angry, though. What do you think?
This is a puzzle. If anyone knows about which Joseph Renville it is, I would love to hear what is known.
He was brother to Gabriel,who some say was adopted by the Renvilles, so I can see that he could have been in the area to help as he could. If true to his father’s views he would have been assisting the whites as Gabriel did so I can see how some Sioux would have been angry at him. It must have been a tough choice for the ‘between worlds’ people.
Wow, it really doesn’t seem fair to kill someone for helping others. What a mess it was back then. Sorry for yor family loss.
I wish the US would have paid the Sioux as was the agreed upon plan. i bet it’s tough to watch your family members starve to death while you know you’re due money. No wonder there was an uprising.
And I really wish Lincoln would have investigated more before he condemned people to death.
Joseph Renville b.1779 was step father to Gabriel, who was Victor Renville’s son. Victor, Josephs brother was killed in battle near Grantsburg, wisconsin when Gabe was 8yo.. The Joseph listed here was the second or first son of Joseph b. 1808. The other Renvilles are all Josephs family from Lac Qui Parle. The Renville killed by Sioux in 1863 while delivering mail, was Francois Renville of Pembina, who is considered one of Joseph’s first or second sons. Not sure why the Renvilles were interred at Snelling, as it was the Renville Rangers led by Antoine Renville who saved the lives of hundreds of white settlers!! The war was typical of frontier hooliganism!! The american Indian agents and the merchants in St. Paul were corrupt, profiteers. They hoarded the rations of food sent by Washington as agreed by treaty (Treaty of St. Peters)and even inflated the prices on that food so that the Dakota were in constant debt for supplies that were their OWN!!! and of course the winter of 1862 was one of the worst on record!!
The stories of starvation, illness and frustration are extremely gut wrenching! The fact that a respected, religious and entrepreneurial family like ours were interred is indicative of the hysteric madness that ensued! The level of racism has not been equalled! The Renvilles stayed in Lac Qui Parle after the war, but Little Crows bunch came up here to Winnipeg and were granted refugee status. Five Dakota Bands still exist in Manitoba, all descend from this incident. There are many Renville relatives among them. Elders Solomon Hall’s, Rod Bunn’s and Hotain all of Sioux Valley First Nation have Renville Grannies. The Mini family descend from Miniyuhe, Joseph Renville’s mom! and so on. The National Film Board of Canada is currently developing a television documentary connecting the Renvilles of Minnesota with the Ranvilles of Manitoba, and will depict how that connection is one result of the “1862 Dakota Conflict”. How we became Canadian, yet all our ancestors are in Minnesota! Well, many are at Sisseton and Spirit Lake.
There is so much history to correct. B
Wow, Brian, that’s a lot. I’d really like to see that documentary.
Brian said:
The fact that ANYONE was interred, or imprisoned, in those camps is indicative of hysteric madness… or of something else.
Thanks,, there is so much.. reason I mention the documentary project is to invite as many relatives, Renvilles and connected kin and friends to participate. How would a Renville reunion go over? At Ft. Snelling? Joseph Renville was born just down the bank from the fort.. in the old Kaposia Village there. Mendota? Lac Qui Parle? This could be a big and interesting gathering.. B
Hi Brian
I think a reunion would be a great idea. i would love to see the places that I have read so much about. Which one would be a good place for a big reunion? Must check out facilities to see where would work for a big crowd….V
Hi actually came upon this by accident and noticed we share a name.
[...] Hyman also refers to the concentration / internment camp at Fort Snelling as a “disease-ridden enclosure” and the accompanying photograph of the camp has the [...]
I am a decendent of Gabriel Renville-the son of Victor Renville and Abigail-Winona Crawford. After Victor was killed Winona married Joseph “Akipa” Renville. Charles and Thomas are their sons but go by Crawford as surname in a lot of the history. I would love a great big family reunion. We all actually came from France. Joseph Rainville decendents.Some other relatives are known as Drainville or De Rainville.I am sure there is a lot more information and pictures out there that I would love to hear about and see.
Mitakuyapi, My relatives, Nupa chan duta ska, “two spirited sycamore tree” here. Thanks for the site. I am learning about websites and blogs and education and networking there on. I met some German friends at a sun dance 3 1/2 years ago in SD, and they are flying to Minnesota in mid May. I went down to the Ft Snelling State Park 10th annual pipe ceremony, led this time by Jimmy Anderson, Mendota Dakota Historian, and joined in the singing for the 10th year . I made committment to Bob Brown, the Mendota Dakota Community Chair and visionary that I would come and sing and support his people to connect to the spirits of the ancestors as long as I was around and able.
Wopida Tonka for your web site. What kind of program do you use? Please email me off line as I want to develop something more than the blog I just started at the URL above over the weekend.
Blessings, Wichozani, Mitakuye Oyasin. Tom W
Can it really be called a concentration camp? or was it an internment camp? Internment camp is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The term “concentration camp” carries many of the connotations of “extermination camp.” Just wondering what other thoughts on this matter were. I found it interesting that they changed it in 1997.