SANTEE SIOUX AGENCY 1918
"The whites were always trying to make the Indians give
up their way of life and live like white men--go to farming">
SANTEE SIOUX AGENCY 1918 "The whites were always trying to make the Indians give
up their way of life and live like white men--go to farming, work hard and do as they did
and if the Indians had tried to make the whites live like them, the whites would have
resisted, and it was the same way with many Indians." BIG EAGLE - "WAMDITANKA" The Santee Sioux Reservation, one of the three reservations in Nebraska,
was established through an executive order issued by President Andrew Johnson in February
of 1869. The Santee's arrival in the northeastern Missouri River region in Nebraska
completed their tragic removal from their homeland in Minnesota to South Dakota and
finally to Nebraska. The prejudice exhibited by the Minnesota people coupled with
deceptive government treaty negotiations brought the Santee to Nebraska, a place they did
not choose to make their home. The Santee Sioux were the "frontier guardians of the Sioux
domain" that ranged from the Santee's home in Minnesota across the plains and to the
northern Rocky Mountains in Montana and south through the northwestern part of Nebraska.
Four bands comprised the Santee division of the Sioux Nation. They included the
Mdewkantons, Wahpeton, Sissetons and the Wahpekutes. Unlike their nomadic neighbors to the
west, the Santee Tribe was basically a woodlands tribe, living in permanent villages and
engaging in some farming. Hunts were conducted twice a year. However, their culture would
eventually resemble that of their plains cousins due to their forced relocation from
Minnesota to the plains. The Santee originally lived in the north central part of Minnesota. The
first recorded contact with whites occurred in the latter half of the 17th century when
the Santee lived along the northern Mississippi River. The Santee's defeat by the
Chippewas at the Battle of Kathio in the late 1700s forced them to move to the southern
half of the state which would bring them into close contact and eventually conflict with
the white settlers. From that point on, survival for the Santee Tribe would become a daily
struggle. The first treaty between the Santee and the government was signed in 1805.
Unlike the treaties of "peace and friendship" initially signed with other
tribes, the Santee ceded one thousand acres of land in exchange for two thousand dollars
(or two cents an acres). Fort Snelling built in 1819 allowed further white settlement
though contrary to treaty specifications. The 1837 treaty authorized the Santee cession of
all their land east of the Mississippi River. Lands west of the Mississippi were to be
allotted exclusively for the Santee. Altogether, the Santee gave up 35 million acres, an
area larger than the state of New York, which was said to comprise the "garden spot
of the Mississippi Valley." The government only paid eight cents an acre.
Unfortunately, the Santee people never received the benefit of their land sale as the
government held most of the money in trust. The 1837 treaty also designated a tract of
land in southwest Minnesota for the Santee's reservation although they were told they
would have to relocate in another five years. Following the treaty negotiations, Congress
failed to appropriate the money for the annuity payments due to the tribe. Nor did the
government provided the agricultural supplies and implements as promised in the treaty.
With the absence of game and insufficient means to raise adequate crops, the tribe faced
eventual starvation. Most frustrating perhaps was the fact that without their annuity
payments, they could not purchase the food and supplies from the agency traders. These
factors contributed to the paranoia and mistrust felt by both sides as isolated outbreaks
of violence occurred between the settlers and renegade bands of the tribe. These factors led to the events which triggered the Santee uprising of
1862. The armed conflict was precipitated by the so-called "Action Massacre." An
argument developed between two young Santee men over the courage to steal eggs from a
white farmer. The test for courage became a dare to kill. When they finished with their
test of courage, they had killed three white men and two women. Santee leaders, Little
Crow, Medicine Bottle, Shakopee and Big Eagle debated whether to take the offensive
against the "bluecoats." The young men, hungry and cynical, eventually convinced
their disillusioned leaders that their fate was inevitable. However, not all of the Santee
participated in the uprising and many of those that did, helped some white people escape
their people's vengeance. The uprising was short lived. Despite the Union conflict in the south, the
government managed to send enough reinforcements to quell the rebellion. However, the lack
of unity among the Santee willing to fight equally negated the force of their attack. The
younger men were anxious to attack white settlements whereas Little Crow and other tribal
leaders felt they should try to dislodge the Army from their forts. Unfortunately, Little
Crow was unable to control his young men who plundered several small towns, diffusing the
strength of the Santee's attack on Fort Ridgely, an important Army fort. Events following the surrender of the Santee and the release of their
white captives permanently stained American history. Colonel Henry Sibley, commander of
the U.S. troops in Minnesota imprisoned 1,800 Santees. Many had surrendered believing that
they would receive just and fair treatment as promised by the Colonel. However, and Army
commission was formed to prosecute the Santee "conspirators." The Santees were
also denied access to legal counsel. Consequently, over three hundred Santee were charged
with either rape or murder and in most cases both. All three hundred were sentenced to
death. Protest by a handful of concerned missionaries and individuals brought the matter
to President Lincoln's attention. After reviewing the cases, the President commuted all
but thirty-eight sentences. Five additional Santee were granted reprieves before the
scheduled execution. In December of 1862, thirty- three Santee were mass executed in
Mankato, Minnesota. The following year, Congress passed legislation which abrogated all
existing treaty agreements between the Santee and the government. The legislation also
exiled the tribes which included the Winnebagos and the Chippewas, beyond the boundary of
any known state. Government treatment and policy towards the tribe following the uprising
bordered on genocide. For example, several reservation sites suggested included an island
off the Florida coast and the Isle Royale in Lake Superior. A compromise was finally
reached with the selection of a site in South Dakota called Crow Creek. Two thousand
Santee refugees were herded on boats and shipped upstream to their new home in South
Dakota. The tribe suffered over three hundred deaths during the first months at Crow
Creek. Most of the people died from disease and undernourishment. Supply trains with food
and other provisions were essential to survival as the soil was dry and unsuitable for
cultivation. One soldier assigned to one of the supply trains reported that the women were
forced to make soup from "half digested kernels of corn found in horse manure." Recognizing the unfeasibility of making Crow Creek a permanent reservation
site, the government attempted to obtain another reservation site for the tribe. Both the
Otoes and the Omahas were asked to sell part of their reservation land to the government.
However, both tribes refused to cede any more of their lands to the government. The
government would later obtain land from the Omahas to establish a reservation for
Winnebagoes who had shared the Crow Creek Reservation with the Santee. A reserve in
northeastern Nebraska along the Missouri River was finally chosen and the Santee again
moved to a new home. President Andrew Johnson's executive order set aside four townships
in what is presently Knox County. The reservation originally consisted of 115,075 acres.
Later, the land was allotted which significantly reduced the tribe's total acreage. A report issued by a government agent at Santee in 1867 best summarizes
the Santee's history prior to their removal to Nebraska. All treaties with these Indians have been abrogated, their
annuities forfeited, their splendid reservation of valuable land in Minnesota
confiscated by the government, their numbers sadly reduced by starvation and disease, they
have been humiliated to the dust, and in all of these terrible penalties the innocent have
suffered with the guilty. Nebraska Indian Commission Lincoln, Nebraska 
