A Life Remembered: Jim Miller's dream resulted in reconciliation efforts

Mar. 9—Jim Miller truly lived up to the purpose of reconciliation between the descendants of 38 indigenous men hanged in Mankato Dec. 26, 1862, and area residents whose ancestors were white settlers killed in the U.S.-Dakota War.

That's how former Mankato Mayor Jeff Kagermeier described Miller's legacy.

Kagermeier, who served as Mankato's mayor between 2000 and 2005, remembers an official meeting with Miller years ago at Reconciliation Park, 100 N. Riverfront Drive. The park, located at the site near or where the hangings took place, has a theme — "Forgive Everyone Everything."

"Jim was one of several people who worked together to develop that park," Kagermeier said.

Miller died March 3 at his home near Porcupine, South Dakota. He was 74.

"That first ride in 2005 — it just came together without any public announcement, but through word of mouth," said his widow, Alberta Iron Cloud Miller.

Indigenous people from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Canada took part in that first ride, she said.

Iron Cloud Miller recalled how she, along with her husband and other ride participants, gathered at Lower Sioux Community near Morton before heading toward their Dec. 26 destination.

"Words cannot accurately describe how it felt when we we rode into Mankato," Iron Cloud Miller said.

"It was very, very emotional, there was recognition of all the pain and the trauma that had happened and recognition of all the stories we had heard from the elders.

"There was lots of sadness about what had happened there. That part was hard. Yet, there was a lot of happiness for the riders who had come together for that one effort.

"It (the first ride) was powerful and it remains so. A lot of relations were developed from that time ... people started reconnections," she said.

Iron Cloud Miller said as news of the ride grew over the years, so did the number of participants.

"We had people who were not Dakota, but they wanted to be part of the healing. One year, there were two riders from Austria. One year, someone from South Africa ... people come from all over the U.S."

Iron Cloud Miller said the journey was referred to as a moving camp by many indigenous participants.

"It was like an old time Indian camp ... There was an essence of safety, love and fellowship."

She noticed children who took part in the ride did not seem to mind they were on the road during the holiday season.

"The amazing thing is that there were no kids fussing about Christmas gifts, or anything."

At the end of of each trip, there were logistics to be considered, said Iron Cloud Miller.

Former Mankato City Councilman Jack Considine said he often served as a liaison between the city and indigenous people. He not only helped with arrangements for road closures during the riders' annual visits to Mankato, he helped assist groups of indigenous people who for the past 30 years, have completed memorial runs between Fort Snelling and a small park off Riverfront Drive and across the street from the town library.

"The runners would be running in and our people would be riding in — to all stop at the memorial," Iron Cloud Miller said.

Considine said early on one wintry Dec. 26 morning, he walked over to Reconciliation Park and found two-foot snowdrifts blocking access to the site's memorial and sculpture. A city crew was flagged down and the area was shoveled out to benefit the riders and their horses' safety.

"Over the years, there were things the city had to learn and things the Native Americans had to learn," Considine said.

He mentioned reconciliation efforts in Mankato have included the longtime annual wacipi at Land of Memories Park and Mankato's Amos Owens Lane — one of the first, if not the first, streets to be named for a living indigenous person. (Owens was a Dakota elder).

The memorial ride — a 330-mile journey — started after Miller had a dream. He'd envisioned riding on a horse and carrying offerings to the site where 38 Dakota men were executed. The ride also honors two indigenous men who were hung a few years later.

Jim Miller's vision of a winter trek on horseback from central South Dakota to downtown Mankato was a healing experience as well as a three-week endurance test, said Considine, who had the opportunity to meet Miller and many of the participants in the Dakota 38 + 2 Wokiksuye Memorial Ride.

According to an online radio interview with Miller, he received his Lakota warrior name Ta'Iya Natan in 1987. Translated into English, the name is "Comes Out Charging." Miller described himself as a survivor of a Catholic boarding school he'd been forced to attend. He also said he'd served time in prison.

The memorial ride had helped Miller heal from trauma. Sharing his life story became a way to promote reconciliation among races and religions became Miller's mission. He counseled indigenous people on probation from federal prison as well as youths and couples.

Todd Finney said his uncle was an Army veteran who served honorably during the Vietnam War but came home suffering from PTSD and health concerns related to Agent Orange.

After 17 years, the 38+2 Wokiksuye official rides ended in 2022, although some Dakota are expected to continue the tradition in the future. The People of the Oceti Sakowin, or People of the Seven Council Fires, made up the majority of participants in the final ride.

Most Dakota people had avoided Mankato for many decades after the execution — even after the lifting of an 1862 government order to exile them from Minnesota. Finney said the ride seeks to promote history that subverts narratives long told by U.S. victors of the Dakota War with white settlers.

Finney was among with five generations of family members who were together in Mankato at the conclusion of the 2021 memorial ride. A Wahpekute Dakota from Medford, he said his people were told they would never be able to come back to Mankato.

"To see this many people here," Finney said to a large crowd gathered around the park's buffalo monument on that cold December day "people that come in a good way — it's hard for me not to cry tears of joy."

Finney did not hold back from crying this week when he spoke of Miller.

"He was my uncle; but he was an uncle to many," he said in a tearful voice.

Finney said Miller had gone from being a forgotten vet to someone whose efforts became part of a movement that's now known world-wide. He credited his uncle as the person who asked Finney to join the ride for a first time.

"I was one of those young kids like you see now (on the rides)," he said.

Finney, who calls himself "a city Indian" said he knew how to ride a horse, but he did not have easy access to one for the early rides. Arrangements were made to borrow an animal for his first trip. He became a dedicated participant.

A favorite moment for Finney came in 2019, when Gov. Tim Walz attended the ceremony.

He said Walz quietly asked leaders of the event, "What more can we do?"

Finney told him nothing was needed but to continue the process of healing and sharing his ancestors' story.

"It's important that we (the residents of Mankato) do anything we can to provide a place for mutual reconciliation ... it's extremely important when it comes to the indigenous people in the United States," Kagermeier said.

A memorial gathering honoring Miller is slated 1-6 p.m. Saturday at All Nations Church, 1515 E. 23rd St., Minneapolis. The public event includes a potluck meal and showings of a movie about the Dakota 38 + 2 Wokiksuye Memorial Ride. The film can be downloaded for free at: Smoothfeather.com.

Arrangements for Miller's memorial services in South Dakota are pending with the Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge.