Massacre Site
N 43° 34.216 W 096° 44.223
14T E 682736 N 4826633
In the summer of 1864 members of the Yankton Agency scout unit captured and executed the Santee who were out to kill white settlers. A shallow grave was discovered not far from here when they were building one of the airport runways.
Waymark Code: WMA9HB
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 12/08/2010
Views: 14
In late July 1864, members of a uniformed all-Indian, Yankton Agency scout unit followed the trail of an unknown war party. When the warriors attempted to flee, they were pursued, captured, and taken to the Yankton camp about one mile north of this site. The prisoners were Santee who left Devil’s Lake 20 days earlier in search of settlers to rob and murder. One captive, a member of White Lodge’s band, claimed that he had killed 10 settlers during the Dakota Conflict.
The Santee were told that the Yankton scouts were friendly to the settlers who belonged to Great Father, the President of the United States. The Yankton were from the tribe of Chief Struck by the Ree. Called Old Strike, he had positioned his warriors to protect settlers during the uprising in Minnesota. In view of their confessions, the Santee were summarily executed. “Receipts” in the form of scalps were taken and delivered to the Yankton Indian Agent.
During the winter of 1938-1939, some 74 years after this mass execution, workmen building a runway for the new Sioux Falls Municipal Airport uncovered 12 shallow graves and removed the remains of 14 Santee warriors.
Marker Name: Massacre Site
Marker Type: City
Marker Text:
See above.
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