Chief Little Crow

"The red of the sunset upon these waters reminds us that all blood is red; even that of the red-skin who fought us for possession of this stream.  In the mist which rises from the river we see the smoke of the pipe of peace between all peoples curling upward forever from the valley of the Crow"

"Chief Little Crow  1818-1863  He fought for the Indians' right to live in peace in this land."  Taken from the plaques near this statue.

This statue of Chief Little Crow stands alongside the Crow River in Hutchinson, MN.   Chief of a band of the Dakota Tribe, according to Wikipedia, he attempted to help negotiate a way for his tribe and the white men to live in peace.  When that failed he lead his people in a number of battles in our area.  He was eventually killed and his body dragged down the main street of Hutchinson and mutilated.  So disturbing to read, from both sides. The extra photo is the statue from  behind where you can see how he is placed as if looking up the river. 

I have decided to go with a weekly theme for my blips, at least through April.  There is nothing inspiring going on around here this time of year!  This week my theme will be history.   I worked in Hutchinson today and drove around a little bit and found this statue.  I good history lesson for me today.