The Blue Earth County Library System (BECLS) and Blue Earth County Historical Society (BECHS) invite members of the community to celebrate the final Dakota 38+2 Memorial Ride on Monday, December 26. Following the traditional ceremony at Reconciliation Park, the BECHS will offer a screening of the award-winning documentary Dakota 38 in the Blue Earth County Library Auditorium, beginning at approximately 11am.
This year marks the 160th anniversary of the hanging of 38 Dakota men in downtown Mankato on December 26, 1862, the largest mass execution in American history. Since 2005, descendants of those men have made the 330-mile ride from Lower Brule, South Dakota to Mankato on horseback in honor of the dead and in a spirit of reconciliation between the Dakota and Mankato communities. The ride concludes with a ceremony at Reconciliation Park at approximately 10am.
Following the ceremony, the BECHS will screen Dakota 38 in the library auditorium. Normal Library operations are closed on Monday, December 26, but the Main Street doors will open at 9:30am to make restrooms available to attendees, and refreshments will be provided courtesy of the Friends of the Deep Valley Libraries. This event, like all BECLS events, is free and open to the public.
Original source can be found here.
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