ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Mark Dayton is proclaiming Friday a Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation in Minnesota to mark the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Dakota-War of 1862.

In a statement, Dayton asks Minnesotans to “remember that dark past” and to “recognize its continuing harm to the present.”

On Aug. 17, 1862, a group of young Dakota men attacked and killed five settlers near Acton in Meeker County. Hundreds of people were killed in the ensuing attacks and counterattacks.

Dayton says those deaths “started a vicious cycle of hate crimes” that continued long afterward.

The Democratic governor notes that “hostile feelings do still exist between some Native Americans and their neighbors.” He offered condolences to everyone who lost family members.

Dayton ordered all state flags flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Friday.

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