The Curriculum
There is only one page from Northern Lights - the Sixth Grade-level Minnesota Studies textbook - that deals directly with the details regarding the carceral history of Fort Snelling. There is an abundance of rhetoric that lightens the true implications of circumstances and conditions at the concentration camp where innocent Dakota lives were held. We have included a few below:
- "The conditions at Fort Snelling were difficult." [The word difficult is greatly understated. A better word might be deplorable or inhumane.]
- "The Dakota were encamped on the river banks surrounded by a wooden wall." [The word encamped, although technically correct, is also understated. A better word might be imprisoned or held captive.]
- "They were guarded and fed by U.S. soldiers." [The word guarded suggests that the U.S. soldiers’ primary interests were to protect the Dakota against outside forces. Although this was true, they were also monitoring the Dakota, or guarding them as in a prison, so that they could not leave.]
Altogether, there are several observations which must addressed:
- The section about the concentration camp at Fort Snelling is four paragraphs (one page) in length.
- Passive language such as “were guarded” and “were fed” is used persistently in sentences where the Dakota are the subject. This effectively victimizes the Dakota and indirectly places less accountability on the other parties involved.
- The words “died” and “were killed” are used for cases that could be considered murder.
