"Along Highway 34 in the flat country west of Howard, four riders on small horses move at a quick walk through a late afternoon drained of warmth and nearly of light.

The occasional passing truck stirs up cold wind, and the road stretching ahead toward a gray sky promises only more of the same.

In these surroundings, the bleakest period in Dakota tribal history mirrors the day.

As it has since 2008, the Dakota 38 Wokiksuye Memorial Ride began at Lower Brule. Over 16 days, it will pass through South Dakota and Minnesota, ending at Land of Memories Park in Mankato, Minn., to recall the hanging of 38 Dakota tribal members on the day after Christmas in 1862 and the subsequent expulsion of the tribe to South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska."

Get the Story:
Peter Harriman: Dakota 38: Easing the pain (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 12/16)