At the beginning of “On the Frontier,” Caroline Fraser describes the Big Woods in a way that is reminiscent of Laura’s description at the beginning of “Little House in the Big Woods,” even including a quote from the book. However, Fraser gives us a little more information about the history of the area before Laura was born. The Dakota dominated the population of Minnesota until the flood of white settlers began in the 1800’s. Caroline Fraser gives a brief, detailed account of the seasonal lifestyle of the Dakota. Fraser’s description gives me the impression that the Dakota lived such harmonious and sustainable lives. They all stuck together and moved where needed with the changing seasons, weather, food sources, etc. The part of me that dreams of someday owning a tiny house, magically acquiring gardening skills, and putting those skills to use is envious.
Caroline Fraser continues with describing instances of the government taking advantage of the Dakota, forcing them away from the more desirable land that the government wanted for homesteading. Fraser goes on to describe the Homestead Act, which basically destroyed the Dakota way of life. While the Dakota had to deal with the forces of nature and surely went through times of trial, I can imagine that they felt that the white settlers were pretty much destroying the world as they knew it as they barged in and stole their property.
Caroline Fraser mentions the German settlement of New Ulm and how the original settlers stole the Dakota’s bark houses while the Dakota were away on a hunting trip. I know I would be pretty furious if I returned from a trip to find someone else living in my house and the government told me, “Too bad. They’re more important than you. If you try to do anything about it, we’ll kill you.”
Caroline Fraser then describes the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back: the government was late with their annuity payment for the land “purchased” from the Dakota. This led the Dakota to go on a streak of killing, scalping, taking hostages, etc., including a battle at New Ulm where the Dakota killed a few hundred settlers. The extreme anger the Dakota must have felt to commit such acts is, to me, unfathomable. My husband and I actually visited New Ulm during our first “Laura” trip in 2012. I would never have imagined that such a terrible event took place there. While we were only in New Ulm for less than 24 hours, I remember it being a warm and inviting place.
Fraser mentions that, while Henry Hastings Sibley wanted to execute all 303 Dakota prisoners, Lincoln only agreed to the death sentences of 39. I can only imagine the horror of 39 people being executed in public while those in attendance cheered! At the same time, however, I imagine that if I were there at that time and my loved ones has been murdered by those being hanged, that I would probably feel that justice had been served. Still, it seems so gruesome today that such an act was public.
Fraser mentions that the remaining Dakota were forced into Dakota Territory and Nebraska. Oh, and when the late annuity payment owed to the Dakota finally did arrive, it was given to the settlers affected by the massacre. While the settlers were victims of such terrible acts by the Dakota, the Dakota were also very much victims themselves of the careless actions brought on by the Homestead Act.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t recall learning anything about the Minnesota Massacre when I was in school. I had never heard of it until I dove deeper into my love of Laura Ingalls Wilder. In addition to the new information I gained from reading this chapter, I learned so much from reading the entire book. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did, and bravo to Caroline Fraser for her amazing addition to LIW literature.