Previously called Blue Earth Mound, Sibley Mound, and Camp Lincoln, today's Sibley Park was previously used as an internment camp for Indigenous People captured during the Dakota War of 1862.
The park is named for Sibley Mound, a defining characteristic of the land. Some connect its name to General Henry Sibley who later used it as an internment camp, but this remains unproven with the mound garnering its name long before the atrocities in 1862.[2]
303 Dakota men were held here at Camp Lincoln after a military commission sentenced them to death. Additionally, 11 Winnebago and ~50 Dakota women were also held here. Amidst calls for revenge for the war, President Lincoln reduced the number to be executed from 303 to 39. One of the 39 was later reprieved. The remaining 38 were taken to downtown Mankato and simultaneously executed (pictured).[1][3]
