To Banish Forever: A Secret Society, the Ho-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota

$19.95

The largely untold story of the Ho-Chunk exile from Minnesota, in which local white residents sought to expel all indigenous people from the region and deny Native claims to some of the richest farmland in the world.

Description

In 1863, after the end of the US-Dakota War, a group of white men in Mankato, Minnesota, formed a secret society, pledging to expel the Ho-Chunk people from the nearby Blue Earth reservation with the goal of claiming for themselves some of the richest farmland in the world.

The Ho-Chunk people, who had not participated in the war, occupied a reservation about two miles south of Mankato on some of the state’s richest agricultural lands. The Knights–determined to claim these lands for their own profit–advocated for the removal of the Ho-Chunk, who had already been forced to move three times before settling in Blue Earth County of south-central Minnesota. Exploiting the fears of white people living in the area at the end of the brutal war, the Knights sent armed men to surround the Ho-Chunk reservation, threatening to shoot anyone who crossed the line. Within just a few years, the Ho-Chunk had been kicked off their land and removed to reservations outside of the state.

This is the story of the Knights, the Ho-Chunk, and the ethnic cleansing of southern Minnesota.

About the Author

Cathy Coats is the metadata specialist at the University of Minnesota Libraries. She previously worked at the James W. Miller Learning Resources Center at St. Cloud State University. She lives in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Product details

  • Publisher:  Minnesota Historical Society Press (January 16, 2024)
  • Language:  English
  • Paperback:  174 pages
  • ISBN-10:  1681342553
  • ISBN-13:  978-1681342559
  • Item Weight:  8 ounces
  • Dimensions:  5.25 x 1 x 8.25 inches

Additional information

Weight 0.5 lbs
Dimensions 8.4 × 5.4 × 0.7 in
Binding

Paperback

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “To Banish Forever: A Secret Society, the Ho-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota”