Historic Fort Snelling

There are issues with cherry-picking, and there is an unbalanced presentation of the facts in the Visitors’ Center and museum. For example, visitors are presented many times with the tragic fact that up to 300 Dakota died during the winter of 1862–1863 in a “concentration camp” at the base of the bluff, yet there is no mention of the sharply increased mortality figures for the European Americans in the area as well, who were suffering from the same disease outbreaks.

The Visitors’ Center repeatedly highlights the sufferings of the Dakota and ignores or downplays their atrocities against settlers: The women of the Krause family “spent six weeks in a Dakota village,” and Mary Schwandt “was orphaned during the war.” The display focuses on the Dakota woman who hid Schwandt from attempts to murder her but avoids mentioning that the Dakota murdered her family and raped her repeatedly. The video also fails to present both sides fairly. In addition, the Visitors’ Center does not mention that nearly 30,000 settlers were displaced by the Dakota attacks, although a sign out on the grounds mentions that fact.

A photo in the Visitors’ Center shows protestors holding a sign that reads “Take down the fort—an icon of American imperialism.” The sign notes that “protests in 2010 drew attention to inadequate historical interpretation of Dakota history at Fort Snelling,” and that they continue to add stories.

Slavery played a minor role in the history of Fort Snelling but receives a disproportionate emphasis throughout the Visitors’ Center. For example, one placard answers the question, “Who built Fort Snelling?” by noting that hundreds of soldiers did, but three–quarters of the placard is about slavery at the fort. It is noteworthy that Dred Scott met and married his wife at Fort Snelling, but it is unfortunate that the Visitors’ Center treats this as a major legacy of Fort Snelling, a fort that sent thousands of volunteers to Gettysburg and other battles to eradicate slavery. The video remarks that the end of slavery simply marked the beginning of a long battle for civil rights.

While the Visitors’ Center and museum show bias and cherry-picking, the outside areas are great for families to explore. Children may be particularly interested in seeing the forge operate and the demonstrations of battlefield tactics in the days of muskets, in which families can participate. The demonstrations and activities are engaging, the buildings are interesting, and the volunteers exhibit no bias or ideology.

When it was built, Fort Snelling was a remote outpost, 700 miles upriver from St. Louis. It provided security for settlers and managed relations with Indians. As the need for this declined, the fort became unnecessary but received a new lease on life with the eruption of the Civil War. Fort Snelling became an important recruitment and training location and fielded the first volunteer unit for the North in the Civil War. It sent units to the wars with the Plains Indians, the Spanish–American War, and both world wars.

Owned By: Minnesota Historical Society

Operated By: Minnesota Historical Society

Government Funded: Yes