Episode Transcript
Common Mystics Podcast
Season 2 Episode 15: Treachery and Terror in Sioux Falls, SD
www.commonmystics.net
00:00:34 On this episode of Common Mystics, we discuss a tale of treachery and conflict at a time when cultures collided in the American Midwest. I'm Jennifer, James, I'm Jill Stanley. We're psychics. We're sisters. We are Common Mystics. We find extraordinary stories in ordinary places. And today we have a story for you out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. That's right, Jennifer. I'm really excited about this one. It's going to be short and sweet. Are you? I am. I am. So, we were in Sioux Falls. We were headed there from Nebraska, as you may recall, and can you set the intention for us? Yes. Like always, our intention was to find a verifiable story previously unknown to us, but most importantly, to give voice to the voiceless. That's right. So, let's get right into it. Let's do it. Let's talk about our hits, ‘cause we had some really good hits on this one I thought.
00:01:32 Do you think so, if you don't say so yourself? If I don't say so myself. Okay. You go first. You want me to go first? Yeah. Okay, so we are skipping over you? That's going to be the last one you told me. Okay. When we were in Sioux Falls at the falls, I was feeling a lot of galloping horses. A lot. What were you feeling? Well, first, if you recall, we got out of the car and we were looking for a fort. I don't know why we were looking for a fort, but you and I were both like, there's gotta be a fort here. That's true. We were both like, where's the fort? We were looking for a structure that we can be like, “aha, there's the fort!” There’s the fort. Mm hmm.
00:02:20 So, we see a building across the river. So as we're making our way to that building, we were checking out the river via the stones, like, these huge stone structures that the river created over time.
00:02:32 It's really magnificent. I can't even describe it. I really can't. It really is. So, as we were making our way towards the east side of the river, I was feeling as if Natives were, um, Native Americans were crouching, hiding, laying in wait, ready to spring a trap kind of feeling. Interesting. Interesting. What were you feeling as we were crossing over the river? I was feeling like I wanted to run away in the night. Ooh. You wanted to get the hell out of there. I did. I wanted to flee. You really did. Do you remember-- what did you actually write? You were “contemplating running” was your exact quote. You're like, I think I'm going to run. I think I want to get out of here. So, what did we find when we crossed the river and we went over there? Well, the structures that were there, that we assumed was a fort.
00:03:25 It had to be a fort. It was a mill. It was just a mill, and we were so disappointed. We're like, well, where's the fort? Exactly. Like, being in this place, it was like, no, there's a fort here, like… [Right, right, right.] That must be the fort, and then we went there and we're like, this is a mill. [Right.] It was legit disappointing. Don't say that. It's a nice mill. You should all visit Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and see the falls. They’re really cool. The falls are amazing. And see the old mill. You're going to be disappointed, if you think it's a fort. Just saying. Then we were convinced there was a fort in the city. Right, Jill? Absolutely. So, we get back into the car and we start driving around the city. So we go up. [Up the bluffs.] Yeah, up the bluffs, and we discovered this, this lovely old Gothic looking cathedral, St. Joseph’s Church.
00:04:15 It was beautiful. And it's like, daytime, it's like 10 in the morning, and it is striking. There's like energy reverberating off of this huge building. Yeah, and it didn't feel like the energy that we're picking up on was consolidated to the structure. Right. So we were like, this is haunted AF, but there's energy around it. So we were trying to drive up and down and trying to find the source of what we were picking up on. Right. And all I kept thinking is this place is haunted. There are dead people here and I'm totally feeling them, and I don't know where they're coming from.
00:04:55 Yeah. That's... that's true. Yeah. And then we pretty much left confused because we never did find the fort. We never did find a fort. We don't know why. I don't even know why we were looking for a fort. Honestly, it made sense that a fort would be there. It did.
00:05:07 I don't know why. So tell me a little bit about the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Okay. So I'm going to start by saying that you and I are going to use the term “Sioux” and “Dakota” interchangeably. And we might throw in “Native” once in a while. Yeah, exactly, and maybe “Indian,” if we're quoting old sources. [Which we're really sorry about.] But the point is that the “Sioux,” as I understand it, and I am no scholar of Native American history, but the “Sioux” term, as I understand it, is more of an outside term of what other peoples and tribes called the Sioux people. And they themselves call themselves the Dakota. But also I believe there are different types of Sioux peoples. And that is the extent of my knowledge. So, suffice to say, I'm using different terms interchangeably. Do you know what people were referring to when they called this group of people the “Sioux?”
00:06:07 No, it's the “Dakota.” It’s what I'm understanding from my work here. But what does “Sioux” mean? I believe it means “enemy.” So, it’s a derogatory term that we named everything in South Dakota? Well, I guess that's one way to look at it. Okay. I just want to get a clear understanding. That's all. Okay. All right. So, let's get into Sioux Falls, a little bit about the history of the area, ‘cause it's pretty interesting. Sioux Falls is named for the Sioux tribe of people who lived in the area. The city itself is located right up against the waterfalls of the Big Sioux River. It's right next to the Downtown District. It's really pretty interesting. It's gorgeous. Yeah, and the falls today are a popular landmark and tourist attraction, but pioneers first stake their claims there on the banks of the Big Sioux River, prior to the Civil War, in around 1856.
00:07:04 That's when Anglo, White Pioneers were coming to the area, staking their claim, wanting to live there. Homesteaders continued to settle in Sioux Falls, and the population reached over 2000 by 1880. The village of Sioux Falls was incorporated in 1876 and became a proper city in 1889. And by the turn of the century, Jill, they had more than 10,000 people there. It's a nice little growing city. It is.
00:07:38 It’s expanding, but tell me, because I mean, I could be crazy, but what about a fort? I know, right? It just felt like there was a fort there. Right? Right. Well guess what? This is major Jill, because there actually was a fort there. I knew it. There was, we were right, I know. Like for sure, I was about ready to build a fort there. According to the South Dakota Public Broadcasting website in May 1865, there was a Lieutenant Colonel John Pattee and Captain Daniel Eicher.
00:08:12 And they arrived at Sioux Falls, leading troops from the 6th Iowa Cavalry. They established a fort at the Falls at the Sioux River, Jill, just like we felt that it was there. I totally knew it. Mm hmm. And there were fort buildings erected all near the Falls. And there was actually an entire military reservation around the fort for about 70 square miles. Jesus.
00:08:37 So, when we were like, walking around the park and the area, that had been military ground. Wow. I know, right? We're pretty good. Wow. Well, that's quite the heavy presence by the way, what you're describing. It's not just a fort. You're describing a town. It seems like a town. Yeah. It seems like, and air quotes, “an occupied area.” It, well, yeah. According to this website from South Dakota Public Broadcasting, it was actually more like a village. And again, strategically placed on the west side of the Big Sioux River with the bluffs on the high grounds.
00:09:13 Oh my gosh. I know, right? So, there was a fort there. Absolutely, and it was built, like I said in 1865, May of 1865. Okay, but you said that people were settling the area prior to the Civil War in 1856. So why, why would they create this huge occupied area in Sioux Falls in 18... What'd you say? 1865? Why were they doing that? It seems like they're a little late. I know, right?
00:09:44 I had the same question. Okay. Spit some knowledge out at me. Because Jill, the settlers and speculators who came to the area were experiencing some quote unquote “negative encounters” with Native peoples in the area. What does that mean? Where the Natives like, making them cry? Stealing their corn and making them cry? Yeah, they were hurting their feelings, and they were doing bad “your mama” jokes. Do your bad “your mama” joke. No, I don't have any. Yes, you do. You had a good one. “Yo mama is so white…”
00:10:24 That's what you… that's what they were saying. Yeah, no, those negative encounters were more violent in nature. They weren't just hurting each other's feelings. So yeah. So, that was an issue. So the fort didn't have anything to do with the Civil War at all, Jill. It had to do with a different war that we don't really talk about too much called the Dakota War. I have no idea what you're talking about. We'll get to that in a second. Okay. My head is spinning.
00:10:55 In 1862, a band of Sioux had an uprising and the entire town of Sioux Falls was abandoned and settlers and soldiers all relocated the entire settlement to a place called Yankton. Okay. Stop, stop, stop. So I know, right? Okay. So, what happened? You said that there was a Sioux uprising. So the big, bad Sioux just got angry and started uprising? Like what is happening and what did they do?
00:11:26 What did-- what does that mean? An uprising? Okay. All right. Hold up, hold up. There's a lot going on here, but let's start with an event that happened in the spring of 1862. Okay. Okay. So, it's the spring of 1862, in a place called Minnehaha County, which is where Sioux Falls is located. Cutest county name I've ever heard in my life. It's a super cute name. I think my next dog is going to be named Minnehaha cause that's just adorable. That's cute. Maybe a fish, if I get a fish. You're not going to get a fish. I might get a fish.
00:12:05 Okay. So, Minnehaha County, 1862. There's a man named Joseph Amidon and he was elected to be probate judge, treasurer and commissioner of this new county. We're going to call him Judge Joe. He is a very important person. It just flows off the tongue. In the Sioux Falls area in 1862, he was a stone cutter originally from New York. He and his wife move out west first. They lived in Minnesota and then they came to Sioux Falls in about 1860. In 1862, Judge Joe and his son, William, were about a mile north of their cabin in Sioux Falls. And they're haying. They're haying on their homestead. Now, I'm not a farmer, but I imagine that haying means something like gathering hay. [Or baling hay.] I don’t fucking know.
00:12:53 I don't know, but apparently it's important farmer work. So we're just going to go with it. So, they're haying, Jill, and that's important work. And at sundown, uh oh, sundown comes Jill and Mrs. Judge Joe notices that William and her husband aren't home yet. And they're not the time to stay out late. No, they’re not the type to stay out late. Plus there's nothing to do. They could be moonshining, you don't know. You don't know Judge Joe.
00:13:22 Jill, don't make light of this. This is tragic. Okay. So, they don't come home. So, the wife, Mrs. Amidon alerts the cavalry because basically it's the only force in town. Okay? Yeah. She alerts the cavalry and they go looking for them and they don't find them, but they do find the next morning, both men's bodies. I know. And it was believed that while Judge Joe had been haying the day before, his son encountered a hostile Sioux group that was scouting the area.
00:14:05 And Judge Joe went to go look for his son. And when he saw the scouting party, he turned and fled and was shot in the back. Single bullet wound. The body of a son William was riddled with more than a dozen arrows. Okay. And that has come to be called The Amidon Affair of 1862. Okay. Wow. I know. That really sucks. I know that would really suck. I don't understand what brought about this act of aggression. Like why were the Sioux so angry? Well, why were the Sioux so angry? They were homesteaders, right? So it seemed like they were on their land still. So, what would provoke this type of aggression? This murder, basically. Murders. In 1862. I know, I know. Tell me. Well, you have to go back to 1851 and to understand why that happened because it's part of a bigger series of events.
00:15:05 Okay. Tell me. You see, back in 1851, the United States government made a treaty with the Sioux, and the treaty was called the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. The treaty was with bands of Dakota Natives and it transferred the Dakota lands and Southwestern Minnesota Territory to the United States government. Wow. Why would the Dakotas sign something like that?
00:15:35 It seems like a bunk deal, man. Yeah, it totally did. According to MNopedia... which is a cute name by the way. Very clever. ...the Dakota we're in a weak bargaining position at this time because they were like, well, if we don't sell our lands to the government of the United States, they're just going to take them and we're not going to get anything anyway. So we might as well sell them. Because that's what they've been doing over and over again in the east. Yeah.
00:16:04 We had seen that. They had seen that happen certainly before. So, this treaty did a few things. First, it ceded much of the Southern and Western portion of Minnesota to the United States for seven and a half cents an acre. So, that's something. Is that good? I don't know. I mean, I don't know. Do you want to check out how much that would be today per acre? I don't know. I mean, anyone can do that. I mean, it seems a little low to me. It does seem low. Second, the Dakota people retained a reservation of land, 10 miles wide on each side of the Minnesota River. Okay. So, they got some land on each side of the Minnesota River, about 10 miles wide. Okay. So at least they got something. And then finally, and this is important, the treaty arranged for the payment to the Dakota people for the land that they ceded. Remember that seven and a and a half cents an acre?
00:17:00 Yeah. So there was, this whole system worked out like how they were going to get that money. Yeah, because there has to be a system instead of just paying them. Right? Like did they not have the Cash App? Right. No Cash App. Instead of writing one check to the Dakota people signed by the United States, they were like, okay, we're going to give you some right now. And then some we're going to set aside for the construction of schools and other services that you're going to need. Just trust us, trust us. You’re going to need this. You're going to need this. You can't spend it all at once. Fire department, police, you don't know. You don't know what happens out here. Right. And then the rest was going to be placed in an account that would be managed by the Federal government. And from that account, the bands were to receive an annual interest payment in both cash and goods.
00:17:57 Interesting. Now, if I recall, that kind of account system seemed a little fraudulent when we were researching the Osage in Oklahoma. It seemed a little, it seemed a little shady. It did seem shady then, and it seems shady now. It seems like daddy saying you can't handle this money. I'm going to put it aside until you can show that you're responsible. When you show me that you're responsible, then you can get the rest of your money. When you want a church, when you want a fire department, then you can have your money. You'll thank me later. Okay. So the Federal government makes the payments to the Dakota, right? So, well, they get that money then everything's fine? Uhmm. That was the plan on paper, that they would give them the money, but here's the thing. So, now, years go by, 11 years passed to be exact.
00:19:03 Okay. You know, when you start with a story, instead of just telling me what's going on, I know that some shit happened. Like I know I'm like, I'm like, bracing for the worst. Why are you so smart? I'm just, I don't know. It's like, I wrote this. Just like I wrote this outline. Okay. Okay. So you already know that many bands of the Dakota were displaced, right? So they were taken from the lands that they used to live on according to their culture, right? The lands they used to hunt on. The lands they used to live on. And they’re hereditary, and like it's been generations of decades. Millions. Yeah. All right. So many bands are displaced and they reluctantly moved to the reservations along the Minnesota River, like I told you.
00:19:55 Now there's Indian agents living in the area. And the Indian agents were white people who were like the go between, you know, between the US Government and the Native peoples. Indian agents encouraged them, actively encouraged them, well, why don't you become farmers now?
00:20:15 Just give up this hunting, become farmers now Because the game that they were hunting moved off, and they only have these 10 acres on either side of the river. They can't go onto US land and start shooting and killing US animals. So they're like, hey guys, why don't you farm? Yeah. Why don't you farm? Why don't you, why don't you try to plant some corn? You know what, if you give a Native of fish, they'll eat one day. If you teach a Native how to go fishing, they'll always eat. But you know what? They did. They did take up farming, but there was a problem because there was a crop failure in 1861. Oh God. And then following that, there was a harsh winter, and of course there was poor hunting because you've crowded these people into a small area.
00:21:08 Like you said, the game leaves. There's not a lot to hunt now, and so they start to starve and really suffer terrible hardship during 1861. And it's like, worst case scenario. Now the summer of 1862 comes around, and tensions rise even more because remember that money that the United States Government was supposed to be giving the Dakota peoples per that treaty? Seven and a half cents. Right. They were going to pay. Yes, yes. You got it. They were going to pay them in cash and goods. Well, 1862, the United States is fighting a war against the Confederacy. I remember that. And so they're not, they're not paying the Natives the money that they said they were going to get. They're not giving them the goods. Oh, and the traders in the area aren't extending any credit to these Dakota peoples either, cause they're like, yeah, I know you don't have any money and guess what?
00:22:14 You're not getting any, we don't trust that you're going to get anything because the United States is embroiled in this war and nobody knows when it's going to be over. So yeah, no, screw your credit. You don't have any. So, now you can't buy food. You can't hunt food. Your crops failed, and now what. By the way, this isn't the first treaty that the United States, um, decided not to pay out on. Good point. There were a couple others in succession to this, right? So, on August 17th, 1862, four young Dakota hunters killed five Anglo-American settlers in Acton, Minnesota, and that night, a faction of Dakota decided to attack the Lower Sioux Agency the next morning in an effort to drive out all the settlers out of the entire Minnesota River Valley. So basically, [they're ambitious] they're ambitious, and they had enough. Enough is enough. And therefore this is called the Dakota Wars or the, um, the [Sioux Uprising] right, the Sioux Uprising of 1862.
00:23:18 Oh my gosh. The Dakota warriors attacked and killed hundreds of settlers. The Dakotas led by Chief Little Crow also took hundreds of quote, unquote “mixed-blood” and white hostages, almost all women and children.
00:23:47 So, this is an all out war and that's going on in Minnesota. Right. And how does this trickle to affect Judge Joe and his son in South Dakota, Sioux Falls? Good question. Because Judge Joe and William were believed to have been killed by a scouting party of Dakota people under orders from Chief Little Crow to drive settlers out as part of the Dakota War. So at this point, the Dakota people were like, we don't give a fuck. Like we, [yeah, we're driving you all out] At this point, it's either you or us, and we're dying. So it's, so it's like, come on folks, and they spread the word out. Now, all the Natives in the area are rising up and doing their part to drive out the pioneers and the settlers.
00:24:26 Right. And the small group of Dakota people, of the hostile, you know, warriors who killed Judge Joe and his son were just scouting through the area. They were making their way through when they found them. Wow. So, really Judge Joe and his son William were really in the wrong place at the wrong time.
00:24:47 So, what happened after the killing? What were the, what were the ramifications to the death of Judge Joe and his son William? Well, a few days after they were buried the governor of the Dakota Territory called for all of the settlers in the Sioux Falls area to seek shelter at the Territorial Capital at Yankton. And so all of those settlers, all of the white settlers and soldiers together, hastily set out in a wagon train before sundown. Basically they escaped in the night. They fled under the cloak of darkness and left Sioux Falls, and it was abandoned for three years. Oh my God. They were scared.
00:25:36 Oh my God, that's a long time. That is a long time. It must have been like a ghost town. So, how did it get to be Sioux Falls the way we know it today? Well, well in 1865, Fort Dakota was built, and by building the fort, [we just went full circle] right. By building the fort, they were able to protect the white settlers who moved back into the area. Protect them from the Native Dakota people. And that's why the fort was so substantial that it felt like an occupying force, and it was really a little town. They were, they were flexing. They were flexing their muscles. Now today in the city of Sioux Falls, there stands a Pioneer Memorial obelisk and the Amidon Historical Marker, which was erected in 1949 by the Minnehaha County Historical Society, which also placed a block at the base in 2007, which was etched with a short memorial to the early pioneers and the struggles they endured.
00:26:42 Mm Hmm. Okay, Jennifer. Mm hmm. Before we get into the voiceless, tell me how do we know that this is our story? My goodness. When I was in Sioux Falls and I was sensing galloping horses, it was the cavalry and the Sioux warriors. There were horses all through there. It’s a great image. I know, crazy. The falls? Yeah. When we were at the falls, like, we were immediately, like we got out of the car and we were looking for a fort. I know, right? That is just crazy. And we were like, standing where the fort was. And we didn't even question, was there a fort here. We were looking for the fort. Exactly. We assumed that it was there, because it just felt like a fort was there and we were right. There was a fort there and was actually pivotal in Sioux Falls because there wouldn't be a city established there, if not for the fort. That's amazing.
00:27:36 I know. It, um, it feels cheap to say, but the Native sneaking up on the settlers, I mean, self-explanatory. Right. It really, it happened that way. And then crouching in the rocks, like you said? Oh my gosh. Stop it. That's a really cool image. This is my favorite. Talk to me. You contemplating running in the night? I know I can’t believe I wrote that down in my notebook. You legit wrote that down in your notebook. I am legit. Yes you are. And what I didn't mention before, we were in Sioux Falls, this was the very end of our road trip. And we were contemplating really, really deciding what to do next. And we wanted to go to Minnesota. We did, we were called to Minnesota. You said, there is a story in Minnesota. You said that. And we looked at our phones and we pulled out the map app, and I pointed to the Southwestern corner like, we're going to hit that on the way home. And as we were driving home…
00:28:43 As we were driving home, we realized that we were going to kill each other if we were going to be in the car any longer than necessary. And so Minnesota wasn't going to happen. I thought our sister's time was delightful. I really enjoyed it. It was time. It was time. I could have spent another week in that car with you. Oh, please. That is legit. We knew there was a story in Minnesota and we decided, yeah, we can't do it at this time. We can't do it. We literally, it was like, we were just done. But wait, you forgot something really, really important in Sioux Falls. And that is, [oh my God] the church. St. Joseph Church. We were so creeped out. We were so creeped out. We (that place was haunted AF), we were walking around like, oh my gosh, what is here?
00:29:35 It was reverberating. I'm not kidding. The energy coming off of that, that area, that landmark. And like I said, it wasn't contained to just the church. It felt like we were walking through like, a haunted area. And as it turns out, the research suggests that Judge Joe and his son William are buried near where that church is, on that street, like around there. No. Unmarked graves, somewhere around there. So what we're trying to figure out, like, why do we feel haunted? Why is this so creepy? It's just a church. We've been to church. Like, that's why, Wow. This is legit our story. Oh, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. So, who's our voiceless? I was going to ask you. I asked you first. Okay. So, the thing is with Judge Joe and his son, there's a couple things, right? The news of what was happening in Minnesota with the Dakota Wars didn't come to South Dakota yet, or that territory yet. It wasn't in Sioux Falls.
00:30:35 The settlers there, [yeah] they didn't know. They didn't know what was going on. So they were just sitting ducks. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and when that scouting team came through, they were just victims of that ongoing violence. But, [but] it was their murders that alerted the community at large of the danger and allowed them to flee in the night. Wow. So, in that sense, their deaths, though tragic, were fortuitous for the rest of the community and potentially saved hundreds of settlers in Sioux Falls. Including the rest of their family. Wow. Hmm. Yeah. And that side of the story, when you read about, um, this in, on the internet, you don't hear that angle at all, but it's very clear that if not for their murders, it could have been, uh, a, uh, a slaughter on a mass scale.
00:31:40 And when you ask them now as a psychic, if you reach out to them and ask them, what's their perspective on it, are they proud that they quote unquote “gave their lives?” And it's so funny you say that cause I, I honestly was thinking like, was thinking about them and it's not so much that they're proud, it's that their story has left them victimized. Instead of saying no, this, this was a sacrifice that we would've made, knowing that we were saving other people. And so, [I just got goosebumps] yeah, they're looked at as victims and they're really, and I hate to use the word, but like martyrs. Right. Um, but you know who else, Jen? Is our voiceless? Who, Jill? Don't tell me the Natives. I swear to God. Don’t you say it. Jennifer, it’s the Natives. Are our voiceless, the Native Americans. I'm sorry. Oh.
00:32:39 The United States Government and its history have been dicks to the Native Americans. It is not my fault. I've never heard this before. This is, you know, me. I know that this sounds like, oh, the Natives, they ain't taking no more shit. And then they had this uprising and they be killing people, but no, Jennifer. Guess what? It didn't last long because 400 Natives were put on trial and 300, 303 Dakota men were sentenced to death in less than six weeks. Did they all die? Oh my God. I'm so glad you asked this question because a lot, that's a lot, a lot. It gives me the opportunity to tell you that your President, Abraham Lincoln, reviewed all the convictions. [I love Abraham Lincoln] Talk about a lot. That man had a lot on his plate because this is during the Civil War and he sat down one,[ He read every single one?] He read all the convictions and he [I believe he did, too].
00:33:38 And he only approved the death sentence of 38 of those men. So, on December 26th, 1862, 38 Dakota men were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota, and this remains one of the largest one day mass executions in American history. Wow. Wow. So yeah, the Natives. Okay. I am going to say something. I know I was joking a little earlier about this, but of course the Natives need a voice here. I'm going to say that in Sioux Falls, there's an obelisk and different memorials to early Anglo-American pioneers and the quote unquote “pioneering spirit.” The bravery, the courage, you know, the fortitude, [the tenacity] that it took to settle this wild untamed quote, unquote “uncivilized land” and, and start a new community. And that is part of the story, but the other part of the story is the Native peoples who lived there and the Native peoples that were, that signed treaties that the government didn't follow through with and didn't pay the Natives who starved. The Natives, who were really pushed to the brink of extinction in this area.
00:35:05 And they don't have a memorial and they don't have an obelisk, and there's nothing there commemorating them. And their story is as much American as the pioneering story. And it just, I just want to suggest to Sioux Falls that maybe you erect something to the Natives who were there first, to those Sioux or Dakota people. Are there other examples of that type of balance that you can recall? Yeah. Like if you go to a Little Bighorn in Montana where Custer had his last stand. General Custer, remember? [delicious] You have two memorials, side-by-side. One for Custer's cavalry that fell during that altercation, but also another to the Native peoples. And they’re side-by-side. And then you have the Crazy Horse Memorial, that's also, I believe in Montana. So there are different places in the United States where people are doing this and they're trying to tell a more balanced narrative.
00:36:02 So, yes. Um, I think that Sioux Falls could do that, could have a memorial to the Native peoples, who live there because they are very much as part of the American story as the pioneers who settled. When I think of the predicament of these Native people, and I know that murder is wrong. Oh, is murder wrong? Don't murder anyone. This is a hot take. Don’t murder anyone. Right. Thank you for that. That's your PSA. The reality is, is that they didn't want a conflict. They wanted to believe in the promise of the United States. That's why they signed away their lands for seven and a half cents. That's why they sat on shitty acreage from their vast lands that their ancestors and their fathers and their grandfathers, before that, and on and on and on had. They weren’t trying to fight with us. They wanted us to honor what we promised, the shitty little bit that we promised. And over 11 years, it just was a culmination of treachery, greed, mismanagement, and really a lot of, I don't give a fuck.
00:37:12 Jennifer is giving me the wrap sign. Yeah. Wrap it up now. On that sad note. So, um, thank you to the Amidons because without your sacrifice, without your deaths, many more would have died in that terrible, in those terrible Dakota Wars.
00:37:31 And thank you to Jennifer because without you, I would still be talking about my homage to the Native people. Thank you. Tell the people where they can find us. Well, find us on our website, commonmystics.net. Check out our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds. Listen in on Audible, Amazon, Stitcher, Spotify, Tuned in, Google podcasts and Apple podcasts, where you can leave us a positive review so other people can find us. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you. Good night. Good night.
