DSU to host final 38+2 Ride on Wednesday

Dakota State University

Riders with the 38+2 Memorial Ride will be coming to Madison on Wednesday.

This year may be one of the biggest rides, with a group from Montana joining the group, but it will also be the last ride. Josette Peltier, Spiritual Leader of the Dakota 38+2 Memorial Ride, said the leaders are retiring at the end of this ride.

The annual 330-mile horseback ride began in 2005 to honor and remember 40 Dakota warriors who were hung in Mankato, Minnesota after the Dakota War of 1862. Thirty-eight were hung on December 26th,1862; two more were hung in early 1863. This is the largest mass hanging ever recorded in America.

To raise awareness of the impact of this event, dozens of riders left Lower Brule, South Dakota on December 10th, and will travel to Mankato for the December 26th anniversary. The riders arrive in Madison on December 14th each year.

The Madison Ministerial Association is hosting the group for lunch at Prostrollo’s on Wednesday. Dakota State will again host the evening meal at the Trojan Center, with assistance from the Native American Student Association and MAST (Madison Area Stands Together). Dakota State and the city of Madison provide them with overnight lodging.

The community can also donate supplies for the riders, including scarves, gloves, stocking caps, hand warmers, blankets, or non-perishable food including protein bars, trail mix, crackers and cheese. These may be dropped off at the DSU Entrepreneurial Building, 1400 North Washington Avenue between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. through Tuesday.

The campus and area communities are invited to attend the evening meal on the Dakota State campus at 6:00 p.m. The meal will cost $12 for community members. There will also be a program featuring a drum circle and a gifting ceremony.