Discovery Sites
How to get there: 100 North Riverfront Drive, Mankato, located near the Blue Earth County Library
GPS: N44° 10.0892’, W094° 0.2053’
What you will find: A quiet park with sculptures and important messages.
Services at this site: None
The Reconciliation Park site was the location of the largest mass execution in U.S. history in which 38 Dakota warriors were hanged by the government as the result of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. The first memorial reconciliation ceremony, sponsored by the Dakota and Mankato communities, was held at this site in 1975. This was an endeavor to move forward together as one people striving for social change and equality through education and understanding.
The park features a nine-foot tall white buffalo sculpture by local artist Thomas Miller. The buffalo, sculpted from a 67-ton block of limestone, is a tribute to the spiritual survival of the Dakota People and honors the Dakota heritage of this area. In 2012, a memorial listing the 38 Dakota warriors who were hanged on December 26, 1862, was added to the park. Today, the park is a place to reflect, meditate and remember. “A reconciliation for all people,” said Dakota Elder Amos Owen, 1997. Many people considered Amos Owen a medicine man or priest, but he preferred the term “pipe carrier,” the one in charge of the peace pipe used in Indian rituals.
Things to Do: Outdoor Activities, U.S. - Dakota War of 1862
