Jimmy Hallum asks a fellow Dakota Exiles Ride member, “How many people do you know who committed suicide?”
The rider pauses a moment before answering, “four.”
Hallum, the elder who is leading the ceremonial horse ride from the Santee Reservation in Nebraska to Mankato, said tragedy is never out of the minds of those who are on the ride, most of whom are under the age of 21.
“Everybody here knows somebody that’s committed suicide,” Hallum said amid the bustle of the riders erecting their teepees in Lake Crystal’s Jones Park on Monday. “It shouldn’t be like that.”
Hallum said that while the group is honoring the 38 Dakota who were hanged in Mankato, the ride’s emphasis is on those who were exiled from Minnesota in the aftermath of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. The legacy of that exile, Hallum contends, continues today in the form of tragedies like addiction and abductions he says many face on reservations throughout the country.
“We’re constantly going to funerals. That’s why we ride,” Hallum said. “We ride for the 38, but we ride to bring that awareness of how people are still living today. People on the reservations struggle everyday.”
But while the ride, which kicked off Dec. 14, was sparked out of historic and modern tragedy, one observing the goings on around camp could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Joking and horsing around — both on and off the saddle — are a common sight. The support the ride has garnered has been heartwarming, Hallum said. From farmers opening up their stables to the horses, to an overflowing amount of donated food, communities along the route have welcomed the ride with open arms.
Destry Owen, who at 21 is among the older riders, said it is encouraging to see young folks saddle up in the name of preserving history.
“It’s pretty good seeing the youth on the ride. This ride right here will be carried on throughout generations,” Owen said. “I got a son back home, and I want him to grow up in this way of life.”
Owen’s first ceremonial horse ride was the Dakota 38+2 ride in 2022, it’s final installment.
This year marks the second installment of the Dakota Exiles Ride, which first took place in 2020 in the height of the pandemic. It is one of two Dakota horse rides coming through Mankato, the other being the Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride. The two will convene in downtown Mankato the morning of Dec. 26, which is the anniversary of the Dakota 28 hanging. Both rides emphasize the importance of Dakota youth embracing their heritage.
“We’re still here. We’re still being resilient. We’re still strong,” Owen said.