Lies and Omissions, Memorialized

Today I learned from this post on Streets.mn by Dan Marshall that Minnesota's Soldiers and Sailors Memorial is not just an homage to those who fought in the Civil War, but also that the statue at the top, Josias King, is a man who returned to Minnesota during the Civil War to help deliver reprisals to members of several tribes after the Dakota War, aiding in the slaughter of hundreds of people.

So that makes our monument not all that different from the one outside Colorado's Capitol that was toppled by people there in 2020 (which I wrote about a few weeks ago). That statue commemorated the unit that helped slaughter women and children in Sand Creek, west of Denver, before the soldiers were sent off to fight in the Civil War.

My mind was particularly attuned to learning this because I just finished reading The Lost Journals of Sacajawea, a historical novel by Debra Magpie Earling. I have a partially written post about it, which I hope to finish tomorrow.

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Marshall also wrote about the lies and omissions in a number of other historical markers around the Twin Cities. Some are more well known than others. They are populated by figures like Zebulon Pike, Father Hennepin, and Henry Sibley, if those provide any hints.