Photo by Jody Isaackson Mark Powers rode his horse bearing the Eagle Staff during the pilgrimage ride from Lower Brule in South Dakota to Mankato in Minnesota.

The Dakota 38 + 2 Riders started out at the Lower Brule in South Dakota on Dec. 10 to make their spiritual pilgrimage to Mankato, riding horseback the entire 16 days. Some rode bareback, some rode with saddle pads, yet others rode with saddles, but they all tried to stay warm with quilted coats, headwear and gloves, taking turns riding to warm up in between.

The riders are fed along checkpoints such as Marshall where groups, like the Living Word congregation, feed them and give them a place to warm up.

According to spokesperson Julian Boucher, who has been riding and more recently coordinating the trip since its inception in 1995, the riders follow an American Indian path that has been around for a number of years.

“The path we follow is one that’s been there for hundreds of years,” Boucher said. “When we started at Fort Thompson, it’s basically the most direct route.”

Boucher went on to say that the 303 Native Americans who were arrested in 1892 were transported down the Mississippi River, up the Missouri River and dropped off at Crow Creek. From there, they went to their trials in Mankato.

“There were 1,400 women and children held prisoner at Fort Snelling,” Boucher said. “The 303 were put on trial at the Catholic church in Mankato.”

“The trials of the Dakota were conducted unfairly in a variety of ways,” according to a paper written by Carol Chomsky, associate professor, University of Minnesota Law School. “The evidence was sparse, the tribunal was biased, the defendants were unrepresented in unfamiliar proceedings conducted in a foreign language, and authority for convening the tribunal was lacking. More fundamentally, neither the Military Commission nor the reviewing authorities recognized that they were dealing with the aftermath of a war fought with a sovereign nation and that the men who surrendered were entitled to treatment in accordance with that status.”

A letter from Hdainyanka to Chief Wabasha written shortly before his execution gave insight into why the hangings occurred, and was in the book “History of the Sioux War and Massacres of 1862 and 1863″ by Isaac V.D. Heard.

“You have deceived me.  You told me that if we followed the advice of General Sibley, and gave ourselves up to the whites, all would be well; no innocent man would be injured. I have not killed, wounded or injured a white man, or any white persons.  I have not participated in the plunder of their property; and yet to-day I am set apart for execution, and must die in a few days, while men who are guilty will remain in prison.  My wife is your daughter, my children are your grandchildren. I leave them all in your care and under your protection.  Do not let them suffer; and when my children are grown up, let them know that their father died because he followed the advice of his chief, and without having the blood of a white man to answer for to the Great Spirit.”

Boucher shared that in the name, Dakota 38 + 2, the “+ 2” came from two leaders escaping the day before the hanging and fled to Canada. Bounty hunters went to Canada and brought them back to be hanged two years later. He also said that only 38 were hanged and not all 303 that were convicted because an Episcopal bishop wrote a letter asking for their pardon.

Riders take this journey every December as a spiritual quest commemorating those who had died in the Dec. 26, 1862 hangings after the Dakota War of 1862. Those who ride spend most of the time in prayer.

For the final four miles of the trip, riders will don ceremonial costumes to ride the last stretch of the way, ending up in the memorial park.

“By the time we get to Mankato, we have hundreds of people wanting to ride, but we don’t have enough horses,” Boucher said. “Most of the riders provide their own horses for the entire trip.”

When it gets as cold as it was last weekend, the riders consider trailering their horses until it warms up a little.

“(Sunday), we didn’t ride,” Boucher said. “because it was too cold. We decided on the safety and welfare of the riders and the horses. (This year) it was all set up for us. In previous years, I made our contacts every 30 miles from the Lower Brule.”

After leaving Living Word Lutheran Church, the riders were destined for the Steven Gladitsch farm just south by southeast of Vesta, where the horses and a guard would stay the night in the barn. The riders were to be transported back to Marshall to stay at Southwest Minnesota State University overnight.

There are generally 75-100 participants on the Dakota 38 + 2 annual ride, according to Heather Belgarde, who was part of the group. Many come from overseas — from such exotic places as South Africa, Australia, South America. Japan and New Zealand. Others come from as far as your local horse owner. Any interested party is welcome to join the journey, even for a short distance.

Many of the riders, like Boucher, are direct decedents from those who were hanged.

“My great-great-grandfather was pardoned,” Boucher said, “but his two brothers were hanged.”

For more information regarding the Dakota 38 + 2 or participating in next year’s Dakota 38 + 2 may call Boucher at 605-268-1498 or find him on Facebook.