Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities

by Mahmood Mamdani

Lincoln’s Indian policy began with sporadic massacres and culminated in a generalized reform that combined treaty-making with large-scale land grabs and removal to reservations. The Santee Sioux in Minnesota were crushed in 1862 after rebelling against their treatment by the federal government, charging that it “was violating treaty guarantees when it failed to provide annuities and rations, especially food.” Major General John Pope, who led the Union forces, acted “without mercy,” ordering “the destruction of Indian farms and food supplies as well as the killing of Indian warriors.” Pope wrote Colonel Henry Sibley, “It is my purpose utterly to exterminate the Sioux if I have the power to do so and even if it requires a campaign lasting the whole of next year. They are to be treated as maniacs or wild beasts, and by no means as people with whom treaties or compromises can be made.”