One last Wokiksuye Ride: The Dakota 38+2 embark on the final remembrance ride
Dec. 13—WOONSOCKET, S.D. — On Monday afternoon, the Dakota 38+2 ride stopped in Woonsocket to rest, refuel and warm up from their 300-plus mile journey to Mankato, Minnesota.
This ride, which follows other similar journeys dating back to 2005, will be the last for the group. Leaders of the remembrance ride that marks a 162-year-old injustice have announced they will retire following this final sojourn to the east.
The people of the Oceti Sakowin are the majority of the riders taking part and are riding in honor and remembrance of 38 Dakota men who were hanged Dec. 26, 1862, in Mankato. Ordered by President Abraham Lincoln, it is the nation's largest mass execution on record. It was administered as punishment for their uprising during the Dakota War of 1862.
The "+2" refers to two Dakota chiefs, Medicine Bottle and Sakpe, who fled to Canada after the sentencing. Soldiers were sent out to find them and bring them back to be hanged.
The ride, which helps raise awareness of the impact of the historical event, features dozens of riders starting out from Lower Brule, South Dakota on Dec.10, and traveling to Mankato for the Dec. 26 anniversary. The group was joined by riders from Montana this year.
The remembrance ride began in 2005 when Jim Miller had a dream of riders heading east across the plains of South Dakota into Minnesota. In that dream he saw the execution of his Dakota relatives. The dream inspired him to take action not only to acknowledge the pain and suffering of the Dakota people, but also bring reconciliation between the two races.
This will be the final Wokiksuye Ride to Mankato. Wokiksuye is Lakota/Dakota for "To Remember."
"The dreamer (Jim Miller) says the spirits are satisfied with the sacrifice the horse and riders have made," Wilfred Keeble said when asked why the remembrance ride is coming to an end. "We got the message across and reached around the world."
The message is of "reconciliation and healing" for the unjust trial and execution of the Dakota men, Keeble said.
They bring that message to the communities the visit along the way, where they are received with honor. In the past, dignitaries present at the final stop in Mankato have included Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who offered apologies for the fate of the Dakota to the riders on behalf of the state and its people.
"On behalf of the people of Minnesota and as governor, I express my deepest condolences of what happened here. And our deepest apologies of what happened to the Dakota people," Walz said in 2019. "Working together in common good is our goal. I thank you for making sure the future for all of our children, black, white, brown and indigenous, is as bright as it can be."
More local stops include Madison, where the group made its annual stop at Dakota State University Saturday, Dec. 14. Officials there said the stop inspires respect for those who come to take part.
"As a new employee at DSU, I've heard so much about this event," Rebecca Hoey, provost and senior vice president for academic and student affairs, said in a statement. "I've been deeply impressed by the profound respect faculty and staff have for the riders who participate in the annual Dakota 38+2 Memorial Ride."
There are still miles to go before the final 2022 ride comes to an end in Minnesota. And as they look toward those last few days of riding, Keeble and his fellow riders are now primarily focused on fulfilling the commitment he made to it and wants to making sure everyone gets to Mankato in one piece.
The journey, after all, is long, and the weather is harsh. A severe winter storm is currently expected to impact the region through Friday. It will make riding days even longer and colder than a typical December day, for both men and horses.
But it is a sacrifice the participants are willing to make on more time. One that the spirits have told them they have seen to completion after years of bringing awareness to the 38 killed by hanging and the two who escaped 162 years ago.
