544 - General Sibley Campground and Park

General Sibley Park is named after me, Henry Hastings Sibley. I was born in 1811 in Detroit. I began studying law at the age of sixteen. It was no secret that my father, prominent politician and jurist Solomon Sibley, wanted me to follow in his footsteps though I found it dreadfully boring. After much debate, I was finally allowed to pursue a career of my choosing.

In 1835, at the age of 24, I became the head of the American Fur Company’s Sioux Outfit. If we are being completely honest, I arrived on the frontier of Minnesota full of wonder and adventure, but also hoping to turn a quick profit. I had been warned the following year that it had become difficult to turn a profit through traditional fur trade, and this proved itself to be true. Nonetheless, I worked tirelessly to try to maximize profits. My efforts showed promise as fur trade in Minnesota flourished in the years leading up to 1837. Unfortunately, this would not last. The wild animal population was steadily declining, meaning hunters and trappers were competing for increasingly scarce game. The Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota became increasingly protective of their hunting grounds, even refusing access in some cases. It was a tense time in Minnesota and would only continue to be so.

Between 1805 and 1858, several treaties were made between the US government and the Dakota nation. These treaties significantly reduced Dakota lands and altered Minnesota’s physical, cultural, and political landscape. These treaties had serious implications for the future of Dakota-US government relations, which directly concerned me because in 1858, I was elected Minnesota’s first governor. Tensions were high, mainly because the Dakota had been cheated by treaty negotiations, delayed annuity payments, and trade disputes. On top of that, crops had failed and many Dakota people were left hungry and desperate. On August 18, 1862, a group of Dakota soldiers began attacking trading posts along the Minnesota River Valley. The US-Dakota War of 1862 had begun. At the time, I was no longer serving as governor and was appointed colonel by Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey soon after the fighting began and was given command of the state’s military response. Several battles ensued, with the last major battle of the US-Dakota war of 1862 being the Battle of Wood Lake which resulted in a decisive defeat of the Dakota. After the Battle of Wood Lake, many Dakota who participated in the war fled Minnesota.

In 1863, I mounted a joint military operation, called the “Punitive Expedition”, with Alfred Sully against those Dakota who fled to western territories. Essentially, we were tasked with rounding up the hostiles who had left Minnesota. I led troops through three major battles: Big Mound, Dead Buffalo Lake, and Stony Lake. Eventually, the US military forcibly removed many Dakota to reservations in North and South Dakota. The tensions did not dissipate, as intermittent fighting continued in the western territories throughout the 1800s, culminating at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890.