How WE Got Here

Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota. Are these just arbitrary words? Most people do not give it much thought, but in reality, these words have history. History that has affected every American's material reality. Why is that? How do the events of history, as far back as 1862, have anything to do with the events of today? Recently, 4 Lakota were taken into ICE custody, and reports say they are being held at Fort Snelling. On first observation, it sounds absurd: “How can Native Americans be illegal? Where would you even deport them?” For these answers, we must examine the history of violence and apathy in America.

First of all, Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota all have the same meaning: “an alliance of friends.” The people of these Tribes shared similar languages, geography, and helped each other whenever they could. They also shared a similar plight when the colonists started expanding west.

Focusing on the Dakota, treaties were signed in the early 19th century with the United States. These treaties consisted of the Dakota selling part of the land to the American government in exchange for food and money. By 1862, the Dakota had to compete with the growing number of settlers for food, and the U.S government failed to meet its treaty obligations; they were behind on payments of both annuities and food. The broken treaties, lack of food, and the encroaching settlers gave the Dakota no choice but to raid the settlers' villages and towns for food. This would kick off the U.S.-Dakota War. The war would only last a few weeks before the Dakota surrendered and trials began.

The trials themselves were a farce. Of all the Dakota that surrendered, 392 had trials. They were denied legal representation, and some trials lasted less than 5 minutes, culminating in over 300 death sentences. It was Abraham Lincoln who decided to reduce the number of executions to 38, and thus, the largest mass execution in American history would happen on December 26th, 1862. Two more Dakota would be sentenced to death shortly after marking the event as the Dakota 38+2. All the bodies would be dumped in a mass grave, which would later be desecrated and exhumed.

Of the remaining Dakota, mostly women, children, and the elderly, they were put in a concentration camp near Fort Snelling. Many died of the elements, diseases, and the military controlled all aspects of life in the concentration camp. Eventually, the Dakota would be forced west, and laws would be made to keep them from coming back.

The Genocide of the Dakota during the 19th century was largely accepted and even encouraged by the white settlers of the time. You can follow the mindset of the settlers and the actions of the U.S. government like a river through time to come up with the conclusions of how we got here today. The apathy for the genocide of the Native Americans as a whole is the same apathy that Americans had for Cuba in 1898, when America used the pretext of the Cuban rebellion to oust the Spanish, then set up a puppet regime in Cuba that benefited American business at the expense of the Cuban people. Again, in 1954, when America began Operation Wetback (this is the actual name), which is the predecessor to what Trump and ICE are doing today. During Operation Wetback, America rounded up over a million migrants and subjected them to illegal detention and deportation, some of whom were U.S. citizens. There are many more examples, but the point is that Americans' apathy is exactly what gives the American government the green light to do these heinous acts.

The government's actions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement affect every American and, like the aforementioned conflicts, their roots lie in racism. ICE sweeps into communities (like the Dakota’s tribal land), takes mostly brown and black people (Native people) to detention centers (concentration camps), where they are then deported (forced off their land and not allowed to return).

The U.S. Cavalry imprisoned Natives in the 19th century, some at Fort Snelling, and used their captivity to force treaties that unfairly favored what the U.S. wanted. Today, ICE is imprisoning Lakota, some at Fort Snelling, and they’re trying to use their release as a bargaining chip for an immigration agreement on Lakota land. The President of the Oglala has refused to let ICE use Lakota land and is doing everything he can to get the Lakota in ICE custody out.

The uniforms may be different, and the technology may be more advanced, but the goal is the same: to remove people of color from their homes and communities to make room for white hegemony.

A calm river that flows without hindrance is the ideal condition for the U.S. government to reach its goal. The normal everyday person turning off the news because it is “all too much,” or just going about their day because “it doesn’t affect them,” is the apathy that keeps the river calm enough that the government can continue its campaign. It’s time to change the way we think. It’s time to divert the river of apathy that has emboldened the government to take the actions it has taken. It’s time to divert and build the flow so that they cannot wage their campaign of terror without resistance.

How? We do it with empathy, by helping our neighbors in need. We contact our representatives and demand accountability and action. We educate ourselves so that we better understand the history that we are living in. And, most importantly, we protect our neighbors so that they aren’t alone in their struggle.

It may seem far removed from where you are right now, but the reality is that ICE is continuing a dark history of abuse on Americans. After all, Native Americans were removed, or “deported”, from their homeland already. It was the Cherokee who were “deported” west of the Mississippi River, an event called “the Trail of Tears” that led to the deaths of thousands of Cherokee and the forced displacement of 60,000 of them. The idea that “Native Americans are Native; they are safe from deportation,” is a false hope. If ICE can do what they are doing in Minnesota, then they can do it in your state, too. Get educated, get involved, and protect each other.