By Seasonal Museum Assistant Logan Steinle
The Uprising Gains Momentum
The Dakota men who killed the settlers at Acton stole a few horses and rode back to their village. They informed their chief, Little Six (or Little Shakopee, son of Shakopee II), a man unafraid of waging war with the white settlers, about what happened. Recognizing that Rice Creek was far too small to spark an uprising alone, Little Six and other Upper Dakota chiefs agreed to meet with Little Crow that night for a council.
Chief Little Six, along with other Dakota leaders and soldiers, awoke Little Crow at his house near the Lower Agency. Little Crow, who displayed mostly friendly relations with white settlers most of his life, was reluctant to agree with the hostile band, calling them foolish for even considering attacking the whites. He claimed that the Dakota were no match for the whites, who carried much more powerful fighting equipment and severely outnumbered the Dakota.
After Little Crow refused to fight, one young brave called him a coward. In response, Little Crow doubled down on his claim that an uprising would prove an unsuccessful affair. However, acknowledging that his visitors would attack with or without him, Little Crow pledged that he would die alongside them. That night, he ordered an attack on the Lower Agency to be carried out the next morning, August 18.
The Attack on the Lower Sioux Agency
The Dakota’s attack on the Lower Sioux Agency was successful. Around half of the settlers present at the Agency were either killed or captured, including Andrew Myrick, and the other half escaped.
Hearing of the attack the same day, Captain John S. Marsh of the Fifth Minnesota Regiment led 46 soldiers from Fort Ridgely to the Lower Agency to put down the hostile bands. Unprepared and unaware of the Dakota’s fighting abilities, most of Marsh’s men were killed by the Dakota warriors at Redwood Ferry, the rest fleeing.
This event proved that the outbreaking Dakota had momentum, sparking confidence in them to expand their attack toward outer settlements.
The Attack on Lake Shetek
The bands that attacked the Lake Shetek settlement the morning of August 20 were identified as those of White Lodge, Lean Grizzly Bear, and Old Pawn. Most popular sources, including testimonies of Dakota leaders and modern secondary narratives, attest to White Lodge’s and Lean Grizzly Bear’s presence at the Shetek conflict, but only the Shetek survivors’ narratives regularly mention Old Pawn.
Lake Shetek served as a regular camping spot for Old Pawn. Through the recent years leading up to the massacre, Old Pawn established friendship with the incoming white settlers. He and his band were camping near the south end of the lake at the time of the attack (settlers lived on the north and east ends), supposedly unaware of the violence coming.
When the massacre began, however, survivors testify of Old Pawn betraying the settlers—first assisting them in escaping, then participating in the violence.
The Dakota Bands Involved
White Lodge, a Sisseton chief living on Lake Shaokatan in present-day Lincoln County, led a hostile, migratory band of Dakota. Lean Grizzly Bear led a similar band that also camped at Lake Shetek regularly. He was killed during the raid, Old Pawn later taking over chieftainship of the band.
Lean Grizzly Bear may have known Old Pawn and possibly convinced Old Pawn to turn on the settlers during the attack, though no sources describe such an event.
The Council at Yellow Medicine
After the Redwood Dakota’s attack on their agency the morning of August 18, Yellow Medicine Dakota leaders met near their agency with a few Redwood Dakota to discuss whether or not they should join in the uprising.
Prior to the meeting, John Other Day, a Dakota Christian, led the white settlers of the area to escape any potential violence—especially knowing that White Lodge would attend. Other Day listed Lean Grizzly Bear as another attendee.
Some Christian Dakota and mixed-bloods stayed, such as Solomon Two Stars and Joseph LaFramboise Jr. LaFramboise Jr. witnessed the council and provided an account for it, highlighting conversation regarding how the hostiles ought to treat mixed-bloods.
Both Two Stars and LaFramboise Jr. are cited by historian Doane Robinson, who personally interviewed both, as providing support to the point that the bands of White Lodge and Lean Grizzly Bear were “assigned” the task of assaulting the Lake Shetek settlement.
While no written Dakota accounts mention any conversation about Lake Shetek at the August 18 council at Yellow Medicine, this does leave room for speculation that the Lake Shetek attack could have been coordinated then and there.
Little Crow’s Intentions
It is unlikely that Chief Little Crow encouraged the bands to attack Lake Shetek. After the Dakota victory at Redwood Ferry on August 18, many Dakota attacked isolated settlements in smaller, rather disorganized, and sometimes unidentifiable groups. These bands killed hundreds of settlers and captured hundreds more women and children in Renville and Brown counties.
At a council the evening of August 19, Chief Little Crow expressed frustration with young braves for their reckless behavior in extending to these settlements. He emphasized that they should instead focus their violent efforts on white men, “those who have been robbing us for so long.”
The Events at Lake Shetek
The first settler killed at Lake Shetek was John Voigt, a man staying at the cabin of Phineas and Alomina Hurd while Phineas was away. While that group of Dakota raided the Hurd cabin, another group killed Andrew Koch at his home. Settler Charles Hatch discovered the two slain men, prompting him to alert the rest of the settlement as quickly as possible.
Most of the frantic settlers congregated in the Wright cabin, where Old Pawn would warn them that the Dakota would either force them to give up all their possessions or burn the cabin. The settlers, unsure of what to do, divided into groups—one staying, the other fleeing.
When the fleeing party started away on a wagon, the Dakota began chasing on their horses. Around two miles east, the settlers arrived at a wetland, where the Dakota were so close behind that the settlers had to exit the wagon and continue their escape on foot.
The Dakota opened fire on the men, women, and children. Some settlers were armed and returned fire, someone eventually killing Lean Grizzly Bear. As gunfire died down, those not killed in the wetland feigned death or managed to escape. The less fortunate women and children were taken captive by the Dakota.
The wetland was eventually deemed “Slaughter Slough.”
Aftermath and Legacy
Around three months later, the Lake Shetek captives were freed near present-day Mobridge, South Dakota, by a Teton Dakota group deemed the “Fool Soldiers” because of their extraordinary confidence in confronting the deadly White Lodge band.
In December 1862, the largest mass hanging in American history took place in Mankato, hanging the guilty Dakota of the outbreak for their violence. Though 303 were sentenced to death, President Abraham Lincoln whittled the guilty down to 38 through hasty trials held from late September to early November.
Today, a monument stands where the Lake Shetek victims were given a proper burial. The Koch cabin is now remodeled and relocated, open for public visitation. Slaughter Slough is now marked as a waterfowl production area in the National Wildlife Refuge System on a plaque in a boulder nearby.
Reflection
When tragedy strikes—especially of the Lake Shetek Massacre’s magnitude—those connected to it often have little to ask except, “why?”
Regarding this event, most only know what happened without knowing where exactly the violent bands came from. Though it is true that available sources do not provide every single answer we may desire, we can speculate and reflect on why the narratives that saturate our current knowledge have survived—and the perspectives we aren’t aware of have not.