This is Dakota Datebook for July 30, the date the “Apple Creek Fight” began in 1863. It’s written and voiced by Dakota Goodhouse, Hunkpapa Lakota/Yanktonai, and interpreter at the State Heritage Center and Museum in Bismarck.
It was early June 1863, when over 3000 soldiers under the command of General Henry Hastings Sibley marched into Dakota Territory to engage the Sioux Indians in a punitive campaign following the events of the 1862 Minnesota-Dakota Conflict.
Intense drought in 1863 had driven game from the Great Plains. Bison, the main source of food of the Thítȟuŋwaŋ Lakȟóta, disappeared. By midsummer, the Húŋkpapȟa crossed the Mnišóše (the Water-Astir, or “Missouri River”) to hunt bison in the muddy wallows of the pothole lake region. The Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna, or Yanktonai, whose traditional homelands centered on Čhaŋsáŋsaŋ Wakpá Makhóčhe, or “White Birch River Country,” decided to do the same.
Some of the Isáŋyathi, or Santee, chased out of Minnesota, fled west into Dakota Territory. They wintered at Mniwákhaŋ, or Spirit Lake, and by midsummer of 1863, they too decided to hunt in the pothole lake region. It was coincidence that brought these three groups together near Apáhaka Tȟáŋka, meaning “Big Rise,” known today as Big Mound, when Gen. Sibley arrived. The Húŋkpapȟa and Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna had nothing to do with the 1862 Minnesota-Dakota Conflict, but were caught up in the fight nonetheless.
Húŋkpapȟa leaders like Tȟatȟáŋka Iyótake or Sitting Bull, Ománi Lúta or Walks In Red, Ištásapa or Black Eyes, and even Tȟačháŋȟpi Lúta or Red Tomahawk, defended the people alongside the Dakhóta leadership of Íŋkpaduta or Scarlet Point, Wakhéya Ská or White Lodge, Mathó Núŋpa or Two Bear, Thatháŋka Nažíŋ or Standing Bull, and many others. These leaders organized a sinuous escape west across the landscape to Thaspáŋna Wakpána, or Little Apple Creek, which allowed thousands of women, children, and elders to ford the Mnišóše.
Many were still crossing the river when Gen. Sibley’s command appeared at the eastern edge of the river valley. About 500 warriors took the hill they called Mayá Owáse K’ápi, or the Bluff Where They Gather Paint. Soldiers chased women and children into the river. Many survived by cutting reeds and breathing through them. They held onto stones under the water until nightfall before emerging from the water. Others were not so fortunate and drowned. Those who crossed successfully took the hills on the western edge of the valley and flashed sunlight on mirrors to signal to the men at the Bluff Where They Gather Paint that they made it.
The Thaspáŋna Wakpána Okíčhize, or Apple Creek Fight, lasted from July 30th 1863 to August 1st. Sibley’s command was unable to take the hill, and he was unable to take prisoners. On the last day of the fight, Gen. Sibley withdrew his command from the field. This was the only native victory of the 1863-1864 punitive campaigns.
Dakota Datebook by Dakota Goodhouse
Sources:
[1] West, Nathaniel. The Ancestry, Life, and Times of Hon. Henry Hastings Sibley (St. Paul: Pioneer Press Publishing Company, 1889), 588.
[2] Welch, Col. Aaron. "Red Tomahawk, the Man Who Killed Sitting Bull." Welch Dakota Papers. April 14, 2012. Accessed August 5, 2019.http://www.welchdakotapapers.com.
[3] "Sibley & Sully Expeditions of 1863 & 1864 - History Part 1: The Reason." State Historical Society of North Dakota. Accessed August 5, 2019.http://history.nd.gov.
[4] Delma Helman, July 2012; Kevin Locke, July 2012; Vernon and Theo Iron Cloud, July 2012; Johanna Goodhouse, September 2012; Susan Kelly Power, July 2013. Louie Garcia, November 2014; Mike McDonald, November 2014; Welch, Col. Aaron. "Red Tomahawk, the Man Who Killed Sitting Bull." Welch Dakota Papers. April 14, 2012. Accessed August 5, 2019.http://www.welchdakotapapers.com.
[5] Delma Helman, July 2012; Kevin Locke, July 2012; Vernon and Theo Iron Cloud, July 2012; Johanna Goodhouse, September 2012; Susan Kelly Power, July 2013. Louie Garcia, November 2014; Mike McDonald, November 2014.