LibGuides: Dakota Family History Research Guide: Oral Histories

Oral Histories

To access digital audio and transcripts of Dakota history-related interviews, visit our Collections Online database.

Elizabeth Lawrence Interview, 1965
Elizabeth Lawrence, whose Dakota name is Morning Star, was the niece of Chief Little Crow. She sings six songs in her native language: a love song; three Christian hymns; "God’s Creation," learned from her father, White Spider; and the song of the "Morning Star" sung by her father at her birth. 25 minutes. Open for research only. A Dakota woman born at Prairie Island and raised in Santee, Nebraska, recalls her childhood and her education at boarding schools for American Indians. She discusses the U.S. Dakota War of 1862 and Christianity, particularly her Episcopal upbringing. 60 minutes; 18-page transcript.
MNHS call number: Digital Audio and Transcripts

Rose Whipple Bluestone Interview, 1976

A Dakota Indian born at Prairie Island and raised in Santee, Nebraska, recalls her childhood and her education at boarding schools for Indians. She discusses the Dakota War of 1862 and Christianity, particularly her Episcopal upbringing. 60 minutes; 18-page transcript.

MNHS call number: Digital Audio and Transcripts

Mary Myrick Hinman La Croix Interview, 1980

Mary Myrick Hinman LaCroix was the daughter of Mary Myrick—who was part Dakota Indian—and the Rev. Samuel Dutton Hinman, an Episcopal missionary to the Santee Sioux from 1860 to 1890, and founder of the Bishop Whipple Mission at the Lower Sioux Community near Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Mrs. LaCroix discusses Rev. Hinman’s experiences with the Dakota Indian Community at Lower Sioux Agency during the outbreak of Dakota-white hostilities in 1862; at the Fort Snelling winter encampment afterward; at the Crow Creek Reservation, 1863-1866; at the Santee Reservation, 1866-1886; and again at Lower Sioux, 1886-1890. The transcript also relates her recollections of various Dakota personages. 4 60-minute cassettes, plus a 54-page transcript.

MNHS call number: Digital Audio and Transcripts

Interviews with Harry Lawrence, ca. 1958

A Dakota Indian gives information about the history of the Dakota in Minnesota, particularly their settlements on the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. He recalls the Dakota War of 1862 and Chief Little Crow’s part in it. His wife, Elizabeth, also comments. 60 minutes. Open for research only.

MNHS call number: Digital Audio and Transcripts

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