Todd Finney, whose Dakota name is Ta Can’te Was’te Yuha Omani (He Who Walks With His Good Heart,) said while the rides won’t be the same as the original, they serve as an important reminder for younger generations about their culture and also to others about the
plight of the Dakota people.
“That’s really why they’re continuing,” Finney said. “It is because our kids need hope. Our grandkids need hope.”
Now they are starting the next chapter with two new rides — the Mankato Healing and Reconciliation Ride and The Dakota Exile Ride.
Dakota Rides Expanding Watch for ways we can donate for this ride!
Dakota 38 "Todd Finney and five generations of his Dakota family members stood out in the cold last weekend at the spot where, exactly 159 years ago, 38 Dakota akicita — warriors — were hanged at the order of a U.S. president. A Wahpekute Dakota from Medford, Finney said his people were told they would never be able to come back to Mankato. The return each year of the Dakota Wokiksuye Memorial Ride, which his uncle Jim Miller took part in founding in 2005, ensures that dozens of Dakota continue to honor their ancestors in Reconciliation Park. "To see this many people here," Finney said to a large crowd gathered around the buffalo monument, vapor clouding from his breath, "people that come in a good way — it's hard for me not to cry tears of joy." Men, women, and children of the Dakota and Ojibwe nations rode 330 miles on horseback from South Dakota over 17 days. Native American runners, supported by a caravan, also traveled to Mankato for the 34th annual 38+2 Memorial Run, leaving Fort Snelling in St. Paul on Christmas Day, the Mankato Free Press reported. " CBS News Todd “Papa Bear” Finney is Oglala Lakota and Whapekute Dakota.