{"id":{"repo_id":"central-wash","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalcommons.cwu.edu:etd-1157"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/central-wash/oai:digitalcommons.cwu.edu:etd-1157","repository":{"repo_id":"central-wash","name":"Central Washington University","base_url":"https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The Rise and Fall of the Minnesota Middle Ground: Henry Hastings Sibley and the Ethnic Cleansing of Minnesota","abstract":"Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891), fur trader and eventual first governor of Minnesota, worked closely among the sub-division of “Sioux” Indians known as the Dakota. Sibley first aided in the development of what historian Richard White called a “Middle Ground,” a racially mixed and symbiotic society. Later in his life, however, he assisted in negotiating treaties that transformed that frontier society into a racially divided and oppressive one. The result was the outbreak of hostilities between Indians, Whites, and mixed-race people in the Great Sioux Uprising, and ultimately the ethnic cleansing of Minnesota. This study approaches Sibley’s involvement on a microhistorical level, exposing the larger ethnohistorical and cultural framework of a racially mixed society. Sibley’s experience shows that it was still an important lucrative feature of fur trading and frontier life fifty years after. The end of the fur trade meant the destruction of the “Middle Ground” in Minnesota.","abstract_html":"Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891), fur trader and eventual first governor of Minnesota, worked closely among the sub-division of “Sioux” Indians known as the Dakota. Sibley first aided in the development of what historian Richard White called a “Middle Ground,” a racially mixed and symbiotic society. Later in his life, however, he assisted in negotiating treaties that transformed that frontier society into a racially divided and oppressive one. The result was the outbreak of hostilities between Indians, Whites, and mixed-race people in the Great Sioux Uprising, and ultimately the ethnic cleansing of Minnesota. This study approaches Sibley’s involvement on a microhistorical level, exposing the larger ethnohistorical and cultural framework of a racially mixed society. Sibley’s experience shows that it was still an important lucrative feature of fur trading and frontier life fifty years after. The end of the fur trade meant the destruction of the “Middle Ground” in Minnesota.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bergstrom, Jordan Scott"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Brian Carroll","Daniel Herman","Roxanne Easley"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:36:37Z","subjects":["Native Americans","Dakota Conflict","Sibley","Indigenous Studies","United States History"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/142","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Brian Carroll","Daniel Herman","Roxanne Easley"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bergstrom, Jordan Scott"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-07-25T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Native Americans","Dakota Conflict","Sibley","Indigenous Studies","United States History"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/142"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891), fur trader and eventual first governor of Minnesota, worked closely among the sub-division of “Sioux” Indians known as the Dakota. Sibley first aided in the development of what historian Richard White called a “Middle Ground,” a racially mixed and symbiotic society. Later in his life, however, he assisted in negotiating treaties that transformed that frontier society into a racially divided and oppressive one. The result was the outbreak of hostilities between Indians, Whites, and mixed-race people in the Great Sioux Uprising, and ultimately the ethnic cleansing of Minnesota. This study approaches Sibley’s involvement on a microhistorical level, exposing the larger ethnohistorical and cultural framework of a racially mixed society. Sibley’s experience shows that it was still an important lucrative feature of fur trading and frontier life fifty years after. The end of the fur trade meant the destruction of the “Middle Ground” in Minnesota."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Rise and Fall of the Minnesota Middle Ground: Henry Hastings Sibley and the Ethnic Cleansing of Minnesota"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Brian Carroll","Daniel Herman","Roxanne Easley"],"dc:creator":["Bergstrom, Jordan Scott"],"dc:date.available":["2020-07-25T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891), fur trader and eventual first governor of Minnesota, worked closely among the sub-division of “Sioux” Indians known as the Dakota. Sibley first aided in the development of what historian Richard White called a “Middle Ground,” a racially mixed and symbiotic society. Later in his life, however, he assisted in negotiating treaties that transformed that frontier society into a racially divided and oppressive one. The result was the outbreak of hostilities between Indians, Whites, and mixed-race people in the Great Sioux Uprising, and ultimately the ethnic cleansing of Minnesota. This study approaches Sibley’s involvement on a microhistorical level, exposing the larger ethnohistorical and cultural framework of a racially mixed society. Sibley’s experience shows that it was still an important lucrative feature of fur trading and frontier life fifty years after. The end of the fur trade meant the destruction of the “Middle Ground” in Minnesota."],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/142"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["Native Americans","Dakota Conflict","Sibley","Indigenous Studies","United States History"],"dc:title":["The Rise and Fall of the Minnesota Middle Ground: Henry Hastings Sibley and the Ethnic Cleansing of Minnesota"],"dc:type":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:36:37Z"}