The staff of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission has a page on their web site titled May is American Indian Month in Minnesota. The statement there is intended to “… bear witness to the tragic side of Minnesota Statehood in 1858 and acknowledge the pain, loss and suffering of the Native American culture in Minnesota.”
The statement ends with this:
Minnesotans pride themselves today on living in a state that is forward-thinking and compassionate. We have become a haven for refugees from countries where genocide still occurs. We recoil at the holocausts of World War I and II, and the more recent acts of savagery in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Yet we remain either unaware of or unable to look at our own history and acknowledge the painful wounds of ethnocide and genocide right here in Minnesota. We have a very hard time acknowledging that the pain remains and that it has affected much of our history thru to the present day.
Minnesota is home to 11 Tribal Nations. Tribes from Canada, the Dakotas, and Nebraska and elsewhere, and tribal members here in Minnesota and others are coming together to participate in ceremonies of reconciliation, such as that in Winona in May during Statehood Week, thanks to the efforts of native peoples and non-native peoples working together for many years hosting such gatherings to bring about education and awareness.
In 1987, then-Governor Rudy Perpich declared a Year of Reconciliation, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Dakota Conflict. We have four years before the 150th anniversary arrives. It may be well to use the Statehood Sesquicentennial Year as a time to listen, learn, understand and then strengthen the resolve to come to a place of reconciliation and work together on meaningful and helpful change for the future for all peoples here.
We all need to learn more about our state’s history, reflect on lessons regarding its successes and failings, and engage in planning for our future well-being. We ask our fellow Minnesotans to use this special month to begin your own journey of learning and understanding so that our future together will truly be one filled with compassion, mindfulness, and positive change for all of us who call Minnesota our home.
This blog site and related activities are guided by the Sesquicentennial Advisory Committee for Native American Partnering (SACNAP). Our plan:
- Use web technology/social media during Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial year to chronicle events, capture stories, discuss issues, and profile people — all with the intent to facilitate the “journey of learning and understanding” of the past 150 years of native Minnesotan history.
- Collaborate with others to create projects and/or host events that would do the same.
- Explore ways to continue these efforts beyond 2008.
We seek your suggestions and involvement to make it happen.
Griff Wigley, Project Leader, Sesquicentennial Advisory Committee for Native American Partnering (SACNAP)
Jane Leonard, Executive Director, Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission
