Riders participating in the Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride arrived in Wessington Springs on Friday, where they were welcomed by community volunteers who provided supper, breakfast and an overnight stay at the Jerauld County 4-H Building.
The stop is a longstanding tradition for Wessington Springs, which has served as a host community for riders on their winter journey for many years. Local volunteers gathered to support the riders, continuing a legacy of hospitality and reflection as the group travels east on horseback.
The ride is part of a sacred journey of healing, remembrance and reconciliation, honoring the Dakota 38+2, the 38 Dakota men executed by hanging in Makatoh (now Mankato), Minnesota, in 1862 following the U.S.– Dakota War, along with two others who later died as a result of the conflict.
The 2025 ride began Dec. 10 in Fort Thompson on the Crow Creek Reservation and will conclude Dec. 26 at Reconciliation Park in Mankato, Minnesota, covering approximately 330 miles over 17 days.
From Fort Thompson, the riders travel through a series of historic communities, including Wessington Springs, Woonsocket, Howard, Coleman and Flandreau, before crossing into Minnesota and continuing through Pipestone, Slayton, Westbrook, Jeffers Petroglyphs, Sleepy Eye, Courtland and finally Mankato.
The journey includes planned rest days to allow both horses and riders to recover from harsh winter condition.
One of the most symbolic elements of the journey is the riderless “spirit horse,” which accompanies the group to represent the ancestors and honor those who lost their lives.
The Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride continues the tradition of the Dakota 38+2 Memorial Ride, founded by Jim Miller, a Lakota spiritual leader, after a dream in 2005 inspired him to commemorate the men who were executed in 1862. That annual horseback ride began in 2008 and concluded in 2022, becoming a powerful symbol of remembrance, forgiveness and education.