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Bruce White’s Minnesota History
Historian Bruce White has added a blog to the home page of his MinnesotaHistory.net site, and he’s begun blogging.
Bruce is one of the state’s most respected historians and has written extensively about Native Americans.
I’ve added the RSS feed of his blog to the lower right sidebar here.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Bruce!
Here are the contents of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 2006 CD that was handed out at last night’s Coldwater Spring open house. All the documents are PDFs.
Coldwater Spring/Bureau of Mines Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 2006
Final BOM DEIS July 2006 Separated document files
I got this information (PDF) emailed to me today by Denise Niedzolkowski, Public Relations Specialist and Executive Assistant, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
She wrote: “Attached is the announcement of the public open house for the Camp Coldwater Spring, the property formerly known as the Bureau of Mines.”
See my Dec. blog post National Park Service recommended to manage Coldwater Spring site for background.
Here’s the text of the Coldwater Spring Open House announcement PDF (I’ve added the photo of Superintendent Paul Labovitz):
January 22, 2009
Please provide an email address for future contact if at all possible. This measure saves paper and minimizes the cost of personnel and postage. Your information will be used for the sole purpose of communicating with you about the Bureau of Mines/Cold Water Springs. You can send that information to denise_niedzolkowski@nps.gov.
Dear Interested Party,
In our letter of December 3, 2008, we told you public meetings would be conducted in the winter and spring of 2009 to help determine some of the details for restoration of the site.
An informational open house has been scheduled to give the public an opportunity to provide comment on planning for the reuse and restoration of federal property formally occupied by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines.
The open house will be held Monday February 23, 2009 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the auditorium on the first floor of the VA Hospital, located at One Veterans Drive in Minneapolis.
National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff will be available to provide information concerning the DEIS preferred alternative, historical preservation and interpretation, and to gather input to guide planning for the future reuse and restoration of the site.
Sincerely,
Paul Labovitz
Superintendent
Waziyatawin has letter to the editor in today’s Strib.
As an indigenous person from occupied territory in Minnesota, Obama fever has eluded me. In fact, I find little in Obama’s rhetoric or proposed policies that indicate his presidency will be substantially different from the long list of white guys who have occupied the office before him.
My hope for the future, then, does not stem from my belief that President Obama will address the ongoing denial of freedom to indigenous peoples within our own homelands. Indeed, while many Americans are celebrating what they perceive as a victory over racism in the election of a black man to the White House, my only hope concerning his election is that it will clearly elucidate the difference between racism and colonialism in America.
As he invokes the memory of America’s founding fathers and refers to Americans as the "heirs of those early patriots," he reminds indigenous peoples that America was built at our expense. We paid the price of America’s nationhood with our blood, our lands, and our resources. America lives because indigenous populations were exterminated and dispossessed of much that was dear to us.
WAZIYATAWIN, GRANITE FALLS, MINN.; RESEARCH CHAIR, INDIGENOUS GOVERNANCE PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA
Three youth from the Boys and Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area (Deer River, Cass Lake, Walker) unveiled a large Native American-themed mural at today’s Sesquicentennial closing ceremony in the Rotunda of the State Capitol.
The current issue (winter 2008-09) of Minnesota History, the quarterly of the Minnesota Historical Society, arrived in the mail today. It contains a 14-page article titled Survival at Crow Creek, 1863—1866 by Colette A. Hyman, a professor of history at Winona State University.
(The quarterly apparently doesn’t make PDFs of its articles available on its web site but individual issues can be ordered for $5. See the order page for the Winter 2008-09 (61:4) issue.)
Here are photo snapshots of the first 4 pages. Click to enlarge as they’re somewhat readable.
I found it interesting that Professor Hyman used terms like “genocidal attacks,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “genocidal policies and actions” early in her article. The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) deserves credit for publishing a piece in which those terms are used to describe the state’s treat of the Dakota, particularly in the aftermath of the U.S. – Dakota War of 1862.
Professor Hyman also refers to the concentration / internment camp at Fort Snelling as a “disease-ridden enclosure” and the accompanying photograph of the camp has the caption, “Tipis of the captive Dakota in a fenced enclosure on the Minnesota River just below Fort Snelling, 1862-63.”
I’ll contact her to see if she’ll comment here about those terms, as well as the larger article and the book she’s working on, tentatively titled Dakota Women in Exile.
In today’s Strib: History Lesson
Inspired by the 150th anniversary of Minnesota statehood, "States" asserts the primacy of Indians in Minnesota, recalls broken treaties and the bitter hanging of 38 Indians at Mankato in 1862.
A valuable counterpoint to official sesquicentennial celebrations, the show is more educational than confrontational, with flashes of ironic humor and quiet dignity.
The Franklin Area Business Association (FABA) has a blog post titled “States Dates Place” at Ancient Traders Gallery:
The exhibit brings together a group of established and emerging artists whose painting, drawing, photography and digital work present an indigenous perspective in the context of Minnesota’s celebration of 150 years of statehood.
Featured artists include Carolyn Anderson, Andrea Carlson, Gordon Coons, Jim Denomie, Tiffany Eggenberg, Robert Two Bulls, Jonathan Thunder, and Dyani Whitehawk.
and it includes a link to this flyer/poster on the exhibit (PDF):
MPR: On horseback, Native American riders make 300 mile trip
A group of about 50 Native Americans will ride on horseback into the Mankato area later this week.
Their arrival will mark the end of a nearly 300 mile trip to mark the 146th anniversary of the largest mass execution in U.S. history.
The group has endured blizzards and long stretches of below zero temperatures in their journey from the Missouri River to the Minnesota River.
See the Dakota 38 + 2 Memorial Ride website for more.
Today’s Strib: A town square for the 21st century – A new series of blogs on our website taps into the collective wisdom of the community.
They call it YourVoices and Laura Waterman Wittstock is one of the bloggers. Her first blog post was Dec. 16 and is titled Obama and the Indians.
So now that the election is over and Obama has visited more Indian reservations than any presidential candidate since probably Bobbie Kennedy, what will happen to elevate the issues and visibility of America’s smallest minority? Well, yesterday Obama appointed Wizipan Garriot as First Americans Public Liaison – a new position in the Obama transition team. Obama has underscored a "nation to nation" new relationship with tribes.
Although no one is saying what this means, it is a step never taken before. There are now seven American Indians on the transition team: John Echohawk, Keith Harper, Robert Anderson, Mary Smith, Mary McNeil, and Yvette Robideaux.
I first blogged about Coldwater Spring back in April and several times since then.
Now comes word that the National Park Service (NPS) will likely manage the site as part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. The public planning process will begin soon with a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) completed by next summer.
Paul Labovitz, NPS Superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, sent this email to the Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition last week where it’s posted on their website:
OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
111 Kellogg Boulevard E, Suite 105 Saint Paul, Minnesota 55101NO HARD COPY WILL FOLLOW
December 3, 2008
Dear friends:
It has been two years since the public comment period ended concerning the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Disposition of the Bureau of Mines Property, Twin Cities Research Center Main Campus in Hennepin County near Fort Snelling, Minnesota. The campus lies entirely within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. The Department of the Interior has selected its preferred alternative for disposition of the property and the purpose of this letter is to inform you of that decision and lay out the next steps for the campus.
The 27-acre property is owned by the U.S. government and would remain in federal ownership under Interior’s preferred alternative. The property will be restored to a condition that emphasizes its ecological and historical significance, with all buildings, driveways, roads and other infrastructure removed.
The National Park Service will lead a public planning process to help determine the exact nature of the site’s restoration, including restoration of Coldwater Spring. This will include completion of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) concerning the property’s future. Once that document is complete, the Department of the Interior will issue its final decision about the future of the property. Based on information obtained in completing the FEIS, that decision could be somewhat different than the preferred alternative
Public meetings will be conducted in the winter and spring of 2009 to help determine some of the details for restoration of the site. The FEIS will be completed by summer 2009. Assuming the final decision is no different than the preferred alternative, demolition of the buildings and physical restoration of the site may begin as soon as fall 2009 and will likely be completed by the end of the 2010 construction season. At that time, the National Park Service will assume responsibility for the site. An interpretive plan for the site will be completed in late 2009 or early 2010.
Once the planning tasks are completed, the National Park Service will work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on managing the contracts for demolition of the buildings and restoration of the site. Once the site has been restored, long-term management of the property will be the responsibility of the National Park Service.
This site holds great significance for American Indian people, for its role in early European settlement of the region, and for its 20th Century role in development of mining and mine safety technology. I am excited that this site will be preserved and managed by the National Park Service and we will be able to tell the many stories of this site to present and future generations of Americans.
Questions about the next steps in the planning process should be directed to Steve Johnson of my staff at 651-290-3030 x223 or steven_p_johnson@nps.gov.
Sincerely,
/s/ Paul Labovitz
Paul Labovitz Superintendent
See the media coverage:
and the NPS press release (PDF – full text below):
National Park Service to manage Coldwater Spring site
Abandoned federal property along the Mississippi River near Fort Snelling should be managed by the National Park Service as part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, federal officials have announced.
Paul Labovitz, NPS Superintendent for the Mississippi River, said the property would be cleared of its abandoned buildings and restored to natural conditions. This includes restoration of Coldwater Spring, a significant site in American history that is located on the property.
“This site holds great significance for American Indian people, for its role in early European settlement of the region, and for its 20th Century role in development of mining and mine safety technology. I am excited that this site will be preserved and managed by the National Park Service and we will be able to tell the many stories of this site to present and future generations of Americans,” Labovitz said.
The Strib’s Nick Coleman has a column today titled Marking another part of our state’s history that some prefer to forget.
The column is primarily focused on the work and writings of Waziyatawin but it ends with information about the Dakota Commemorative March that ends today:
… with a 13-mile final leg from Shakopee to Fort Snelling, where a closing ceremony will be held at 3 p.m., followed by a dinner at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Mendota.
See the Dakota Commemorative March for more info.
I first heard of Mona Smith when I met with Miquel Vargas, Community Outreach Coordinator at the U of MN Dept. of American Indian Studies, and he suggested I contact her about her multimedia work. Then historian Bruce White suggested I contact her, and lastly, U of MN Dakota Language Specialist Neil McKay recommended her to me as well-respected educator who was likely to be interested in discussing my ideas. I briefly met Mona at the Coldwater Spring encampment earlier this month (where I met Neil, too) and we finally arranged to meet for a lengthy chat on Tuesday at Minnehaha Coffee near her home in South Minneapolis.
Mona is a producer/director/media artist/co-founder of Allies: media/art and a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Community in South Dakota. (Photo thumbnail is from a 2006 MPR story titled “City Indians” use art to stake their claim.)
She’s been working recently on several media projects (eg, the pilot Bdote Memory Map) with the Minnesota Humanities Center and on a Bdote video podcast for the Telling River Stories program at the University of Minnesota.
Her Bdote video podcast is rather hard to find on that site, and impossible to link to.
So I’ve created this 45 second screencast that shows you how to navigate to it.
I think her ability to work closely with both Native communities and non-Native institutions on many projects is unique and I’m hoping to find a way to collaborate with her.
For more background on Mona, see this page from a 2008 conference at the the U of MN’s Institute for Advanced Study:
Mona Smith, Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota, is a multi-media artist, educator and co-founder of Allies: media/art. A former University-level educator, Smith has produced work broadcast through PBS, and shown at festivals, conferences and museums in Europe and North and South America.
Her work has received awards from Native and Non-Native film and video festivals; her new media work includes art projects for the web, sites for web distribution of Native focused media, and multimedia installation work, most notably, Cloudy Waters; Dakota Reflections on the River (Minnesota History Center, 2004-2005), City Indians (Ancient Traders Art Gallery, Minneapolis, 2006-2007), and the Bdote Memory Map (in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center).
Her artistic and educational practice uses image, sound and place to re inhabit the imaginations and the experience of the audience/participant, and to work between, the place of healing, of relationship, of meaning, where spirit and physical, life and death, fear and strength, night and day intersect. Allies: media/art is an award-winning Dakota owned media production company, incorporated in 1996.
On Tuesday morning, I had a meeting at the Ft. Snelling State Park visitors center with Judy Thomson, DNR regional naturalist, and Linda Radimecky, DNR Interpretive Naturalist. Judy was the DNR person on the team of people who helped create the Concentration Camp display at the park, and Linda conducts tours at the park that include the history of the Camp.
I wanted to better understand the background on the display (it was constructed by Split Rock Studios “museum outfitters” in Roseville) and further explore the possibility of creating both a web version and a traveling version of the exhibit.
We discussed whether ‘leveraging’ the exhibit in this way would stimulate interest in more people (including teachers and their students) visiting the park and the exhibit, as there’s nothing quite as powerful as a physically visiting a historical site to generate learning and a lasting impression.
