MANKATO — Dakota tribal members have completed Monday, what could be their final annual 330-mile ride on horseback to honor 40 of their ancestors who were killed in the aftermath of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

The riders arrived in Mankato on Monday morning after setting out from Lower Brule, South Dakota. The riders endured two snowstorms and frigid days.

The riders had reached Redwood Falls on Wednesday, Dec. 21 as the winter weather took a turn of the worse. Riders traveled through sub-zero temperatures, among the worst in the history of the memorial ride.

Friday, Dec. 23 the riders were scheduled to ride through New Ulm around noon. They had reached Fort Ridgely the night before, but brutally cold wind and ongoing wind delayed the riders until late afternoon.

This was the first time the memorial ride has traveled through New Ulm. The riders traveled south on Minnesota Street and were led by a police escort.

The memorial riders traveled through downtown New Ulm, which 160 years ago was the site of two battles during the U.S.-Dakota War. The riders traveled past several historical plaques detailing the conflict that impacted two peoples for generations.

Despite the devastating cold, many New Ulm residents waited outside to see the riders travel through New Ulm. A crowd at the intersection of 19th South and Minnesota held up supportive signs and even gave the group hand warmers as they traveled past in route to Courtland where they would spend the day in preparation for their final push into Mankato.

Support for the Dakota 38 memorial riders continued as they entered into Mankato on the final day of the ride.

Hundreds of people cheered the riders’ arrival in Mankato.

“I felt the ancestors protected us and were with us all the way,” Andrea Eastman said.

The riders have been making the trip each December since 2005 to retrace the route their ancestors took to a reservation in South Dakota. The U.S. government moved tribal members to that state following the mass hanging of 38 tribal members on Dec. 26, 1862, in Mankato. Two others were later captured and hanged.

The executions were designed to punish the tribal members for participating in the war.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was among the crowd that greeted the riders. He apologized for how the Dakota were treated and said teaching indigenous studies in Minnesota schools is a start toward reconciliation.

Some Minnesota schools require ethnic studies. State lawmakers could consider a bill this session to mandate such studies statewide.

This year’s ride will be the last one set up by the original organizers. They say they’re stepping away, but Eastman said the rides could resume some time in the future.

“For this ride, it’s the last,” Eastman said. “But we’ll be coming again. Stay tuned.”