Whitestone Hill Memorial Ride

Beginning in August 2020, a small group of Dakota and Lakota horse riders and supporters—some of whom are descendants of those who died as well as those who survived the events of 1863—began undertaking a 230 mile journey on horseback from Ft. Thompson, South Dakota to Whitestone Hill (Inyan Ska), North Dakota. 2023 marks the 160th anniversary of the massacre at Whitestone Hill.

August 2023marks the fourth year that this Ride has taken place and will culminate in a ceremony at the Whitestone Hill site on September 3. Since 2020, much has happened to make the terrible history of Whitestone Hill visible to the public. The North Dakota legislature has approved funding to create a proper Native Memorial at the site and to redesignate Whitestone Hill as a “massacre site” and not a “battlefield site.” The North Dakota Historical Society has also installed new signage on the site that retells the story of what happened from a Dakota perspective.

[Photograph by Ryan Vizzions. September 3, 2022]

Poster for Whitestone Hill Memorial Ride 2021