TheDariusleut, alsoDariusleit, are a branch of theHutterites that emerged in 1860.
In 1859, Michael Waldner and Jakob Hofer (1830–1900) successfully reestablished a community of goods among some Hutterites inHutterdorf, Ukraine, then part of theRussian Empire. This group was namedSchmiedeleut. In 1860, another group of Hutterites did the same under the leadership of Darius Walter (1835–1903) also inHutterdorf, Ukraine, but on the opposite side of the village. This group was called Dariusleut, after the first name of its leader.[1]
The Dariusleut left their homes in Ukraine in June 1874 together with theSchmiedeleut. During the first winter, the Dariusleut lived on government grounds atSilver Lake, South Dakota. In 1875, they founded their first colony on American soil,Wolf Creek Hutterite Colony inSouth Dakota, the mother colony of the Dariusleut.[2]
Shortly afterWorld War I, two Hutteriteconscientious objectors,Joseph and Michael Hofer, died in an American prison. This and growinganti-German sentiment caused the emigration of all six Dariusleut colonies toAlberta, Canada, in the following years.[3]
In the 1930s, the Schmiedeleut started to form new colonies inMontana, thus returning to the United States. In 1950, there were 25 Schmiedeleut colonies in Alberta and four in Montana.[4]
Owa Hutterite Colony, a Hutterite colony ofethnicJapanese that is affiliated with the Dariusleut, was founded in 1972.[5]