Limburgse landverhuizers

en de indiaanse opstand in Minnesota 1850-1865

Samenvatting

Socio-economic motives predominated in the emigration of rural people, both farmers and tradespeople, from the Dutch Province of Limburg to Minnesota in the 1850-1865 period. The trans- Atlantic migration began with various Dutch pioneers and continued because of favorable letters from earlier emigrants and news about cheap land provided by the U.S. government to colonists. The Limburg emigrants settled mainly in Carver County and fanned out from there over southeastern Minnesota. The earliest arrivals were faced with the uprising of the Dakota Sioux Indians against loss of independence and land, forced settlement on a small reservation, continued encroachment by white newcomers, negligence by the federal government to fulfil treaty obligations, and pressure by the government and churches to abandon their traditions and assimilate into American mainstream society. Nondelivery of food rations and the resultant famine caused an uprising in 1862 during which Indians attacked white settlements and forts, killing settlers and soldiers. The army and civilian militias retaliated and eventually subdued the Dakotas, resulting in a mass execution of Indian warriors and deportation of most tribespeople from the state. The Dakota War caused much anxiety among the Limburg Dutch who either fled or hunkered down for defensive purposes. Emigration and settlement from Limburg temporarily slowed down only to pick up after the uprising. Despite efforts at improving intercultural understanding the relationship between descendants of white settlers and Dakota Sioux in Minnesota remains uneasy.