August 17 is the anniversary of the start of The Dakota War in 1862. This is one of the worst instances of the many genocides in US history.

The US government had forced the Dakota people onto a reservation in Minnesota and the US government had agreed to supply food and money in exchange for keeping the peace. The US then started sending settlers there, which destroyed the Dakota’s hunting grounds. When the US Civil War broke out, the US government stopped sending food to the Dakota.

Faced with starvation and no means to feed themselves, on August 17, a group of Dakota hunters stole eggs from a white settler, and bloodshed ensued. Since reprisals were likely anyway, and dying fighting is better than starving quietly, the Dakota rose up. The war was quick, only lasting a few weeks before US militia groups had won.

Afterward is where it really gets messy. After a series of show trials, the US held the largest mass execution in its history. The men, women, and children who weren’t executed outright spent years imprisoned in terrible conditions, causing hundreds of more deaths. And just to be sure, being Dakota in Minnesota was made illegal, and a bounty was placed on the head of every Dakota.

“The state reward for dead Indians has been increased to $200 for every red-skin sent to Purgatory. The sum is more than all the dead bodies of all the Indians east of the Red River are worth.”