S7E21 - The Dakota War and British North America

For our last episode of Season 7 we look at how war in the US showed a deep connection between peoples on both sides of the US-Canada border. While the border between Canada and the United States is now regularly patrolled and controlled heavily on both sides, for many decades it was far more nebulous. It was a border that cut across territory where families and entire peoples had once moved freely. When the Dakota, starving and angry, rose up in 1862 against the US government and settlers in Minnesota a six week conflict ensued. In the aftermath many Dakota fled north across the border to seek safety, refuge, and shelter. These ”American Indians” as the British and later Canadian governments referred to them, would struggle to find a home in what would become Canada – and for many years would remain wandering refugees with uncertain status in a land not quite sure how to accept them. Get add free content at Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.