On an annual occurrence since 2005, Native American trail riders travel by horseback east from Lower Brule Indian Reservation to the site of a mass hanging of 38 Native Americans in Mankato, Minn., which took place in 1862.
They make this trip during the month of December to honor the men, women and children who were forced to march across the cold winter prairie either to the mass hanging in Mankato or to a large concentration camp of Dakota Indians families at Fort Snelling, Minn.
Every year, the riders and their supporters who travel with them stop in Woonsocket to rest for the night. John and Rose Delvaux, who live in the northwest corner of town, are kind enough to let them corral their horses there for the night, and camp there, if they wish.
…Read on and see an additional picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!