Interpretation at Fort Snelling
Currently managed by the Minnesota Historical Society, Fort Snelling is interpreted as it would have appeared in the 1820s. The Historical Society holds tours for families and school groups - thousands of people in all - every year from April through October.
For students visiting on field trips, the educational tour moves through eight stations at the site: the front gate, the schoolhouse, married quarters for women, the parade ground, commanding officers' quarters, the Indian Agency, the hospital, Dred Scott's quarters (the only non-1820s station), and the blacksmith shop.
There is not a single mention within the tour about how the land on which the site sits is sacred to the Dakota People or about the concentration camp that existed there over the winter of 1862 and 1863. Numerous members of the Dakota Nation have spoken out against this interpretation, and have protested to have their history included in the interpretation of the fort.
As it stands, there is only one part of the tour that references the Dakota and other indigenous groups: the Indian Agency, where the fur trade is heavily discussed, but with only passing mention of a concentration camp or any injustice that occurred there.
