MN Black History: George Bonga

George Bonga, as painted by artist Kit Leffler

MN Black History: George Bonga - I'm pleased to find this on Ampers, a website consortium formed by MPR and MHS made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota, aka Legacy Grant Funding voted in by Minnesotans!

Someone is finally paying attention to people like the Bonga family, a branch of that family being from Pembina.

Two amazing historical facts come out in the audio link above:

1.  One of the Bonga family met with Dred Scott when Scott was in Minnesota, and it's quite probably Scott was impressed with what he saw Bonga accomplishing as a free black man, and it could very well have further inspired him to take his case to the Supreme Court - he sued for his freedom as a slave - and

2.  Bonga wrote Bishop Whipple to intercede for the Dakota who were arrested and sentenced to hang, with President Lincoln.  Lincoln eventually commuted many of the over 300 (eventually 38 were hung in biggest mass execution in our history to this day...)

Case Jones Revisited

Recently, actor/educator and historian (Minnesota Historical Society) Dwight Scott visited Hallock and presented a performance as Casey Jones, one of Hallock's notable past residents. Talk about exciting!<sup>1


1</sup> - Having lived in Fargo for many years, such a performance is common there, but it's a big event in small towns like Hallock. I'm pleased to see them get such events up there in the farthest corner of the state, a part of the state that is all too often ignored by those living in the southern portion. When 'Greater Minnesota' is remembered at all, it still doesn't include our extreme northwest corner; that is so ironic, considering that the crossroads of the Red River of the North and the Pembina rivers, have been not only a meeting place for so long, but also a major gateway for settlement and commerce to the region, yet today it is all but forgotten...

Early Multiculturalism

I recently posted about a photograph that featured what appeared to be a black American in a boat during the 1897 flood; I also hinted at the identity of the first non-native child born in St. Vincent/Pembina.

Although unusual, I have learned that it was not unprecedented for our area to have had some non-native minority citizens in the 19th century and even before. Some say they were here well before the white man. It shouldn't surprise anyone - the world has always been prone to multiculturalism when there are places to explore, money to be made, and opportunities to be had. And despite what you may have been taught, it not only isn't always the white man who breaks the barriers, but a person of color...

"Childbirth was one of the greatest causes of anxiety to women on the frontier. Emotional problems resulting from births appeared to be every bit as serious as the physical. Medical science was crude and doctors were lacking, so women had to suffer. The first non-Indian child born in what is now North Dakota arrived on March 12, 1802 [some say March 14, 1802], in the Alexander Henry trading post at Pembina. She was the daughter of Pierre Bonga and his wife, who were both Negroes. The first child of two white parents in the Red River Valley was born on December 29, 1807, at the mouth of the Pembina River...The second child born of white parents arrived on January 6, 1808, on the open prairie a few miles from Pembina with only a wigwam for shelter. This girl, daughter of Pierre Lagimoniere, a trapper and fur trader, grew up to become the mother of Louis Riel...Marie Anne Lagimoniere had her second child under no less trying conditions. While traveling with her husband across the prairie on horseback in search of game, with their three-year-old daughter strapped in a moos bag on one side of her saddle and provisions in the packet on the other, Marie's trained pony spotted some buffalo and gave chase. During the chase Marie Anne was unable to control the horse and just before she was about to fall, her husband managed to overtake them and stop the horse. Marie Anne dismounted and shortly after gave birth to a son..." - From Challenge of the Prairie, Chapter XVI Heal Thyself: Childbirth, by Hiram M. Dache

If you follow some of the links above, they repeat that Pierre Bonga had "four sons", but there are sources that say he left "many" offspring. I don't find it strange a daughter isn't mentioned, since often during that period sons were considered of greater value. But then I found this reference which does mention a daughter, however one born earlier than the date above, and in a different location. Alas, history is not always an exact science, and when strong evidence does not exist (yet), one must either take things on faith, or with a grain a salt.

In this case, however, I will side with the reference to a daughter born in Pembina. Why? Because it was stated by a very reliable source - Alexander Henry, in his journals.

Profile: Casey Jones - Hallock's Handyman

The viginette above was produced by Twin Cities Public Television as part of their North Star: Minnesota's Black Pioneers series. Their episode on Jones mentions Hallock prominently.

Case Jones was featured in this previous post, which tells a bit more about the people Jones helped in Hallock...