Beloit College News has some information: Organizers postpone Ohiyesa ‘Journey,’ July 8 event at Beloit College cancelled.

Organizers have indefinitely postponed plans for the reinterment of American Indian [...]]]> Update 7/8/2010: I’ve been informed by the owner of the Awicaunhdipi Kte: We Will Bring Them Home blog (no longer viewable) that this event has been canceled.

Beloit College News has some information: Organizers postpone Ohiyesa ‘Journey,’ July 8 event at Beloit College cancelled.

Organizers have indefinitely postponed plans for the reinterment of American Indian author and former Beloit College student, Ohiyesa. The week-long journey, which was to return the remains of the physician, writer and activist to his tribal homeland in South Dakota, has not been rescheduled.

In recent months, organizers had been working with Beloit College to host a Dakota ceremony and celebration on campus outside South College, the building in which Ohiyesa studied during his years in the college’s former preparatory program (1876-79). As a result of the postponement, that ceremony – originally scheduled for Thursday, July 8 – has been cancelled.

On the website set up for this event, organizers pointed to the reasons for the postponement, and write that the “family will begin a process of careful consideration as to the proper course of action for the next year.” No additional details are available at this time.

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I got an email from book author Marybeth Lorbiecki a few days ago.  (I blogged about her in May of 2008 when she wrote me with information about the Dakota communities who were exiled from the state after the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. See her new blog, Ohiyesa-Eastman: Beyond Wounded Knee.)

Marybeth wrote:

Various members of the Eastman members of Dakota communities from Flandreau and Sisseton (Lillian Goodeagle and Emmett Eastman) and from Ohiyesa’s direct descendants as well as Adrienne Brant James from the Turtle Island Learning Circle are working on a re-internment of Ohiyesa and his son Ohi from Detroit to Flandreau at the July Pow Wow. They will be moving the bodies from Detroit to Flandreau via Beloit College and will be preceded by a procession with the 38 riders on horseback. Darmouth and Beloit are part of the process.

The blogsite for the re-internment of Ohiyesa is titled Awicaunhdipi Kte: We Will Bring Them Home and has this overview:

The descendents of Ohiyesa (Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman) come together to celebrate the life and legacy of our esteemed ancestor. We seek to pay tribute to the great contributions he made in his writing and activism, and we honor his life as a physician and as a representative of his people. Ohiyesa worked tirelessly in the hopes that we could all live in a nation more accepting of the Dakota Oyate. His goal was to ensure opportunities for us as Dakota people who follow the Dakota Wicohan (way of life) in a western world.

Dr. Eastman’s lifelong devotion to the preservation of Dakota life ways, culture, and history serves as an inspiration and a source of strength to the Flandreau Santee Sioux community, and it is only fitting that he be laid to rest here, among the people that he loved.

We will be moving his remains, along with those of his son Ohiyesa II, from Evergreen Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan to the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribal lands in South Dakota. There, they will be reburied in a Dakota ceremony with honors at the historic First Presbyterian Church cemetery. The new gravesites will be situated alongside that of Ohiyesa’s father, Tawakanhdiota “Many Lightnings” (Jacob Eastman) and older brother, Hinhan Duta “Red Owl” (John Eastman), as well as many other Dakota relatives and tribal members.

Everyone is warmly invited to participate in this journey, which will include celebrations at important locations along the way in Beloit WI, Shakopee MN, Redwood Falls MN, and Flandreau SD.

See the Awicaunhdipi Kte blog and subscribe to its RSS feed.

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area web site has a set of web pages titled the Bureau of Mines (Coldwater) Current Status [...]]]> Earlier this evening, I attended the Coldwater Spring open house at the VA Hospital hosted by National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff. (See my January blog post for details.)

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area web site has a set of web pages titled the Bureau of Mines (Coldwater) Current Status that contains some of the information and images/PDFs that were on display at tonight’s open house.

See the album of two dozen photos from the Coldwater Spring open house, or this slideshow:

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 [...]]]> 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

See the album of 15 photos or this slideshow:

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 [...]]]> 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):

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 [...]]]> 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.

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 [...]]]> 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.

See the album of 13 photos or this slideshow [...]]]> I took photos and captured the audio of speakers at last Friday’s press conference at Coldwater Spring. See these two articles in the Strib for more info:

• Strib, Sept. 5: Occupation of park site expected to end today 
• Strib, Sept. 6: Dakota leave Coldwater Spring site after four days

See the album of 13 photos or this slideshow (audio below):

Minnesota-based author/historian John ‘Jack’ Koblas gave a slide presentation at the Northfield Historical Society last night on Let them Eat Grass, his three-volume history of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

The first in the series was last Wednesday evening, and it had a Native American focus. Librarian JoEllen Haugo (center photo, click [...]]]> As I blogged in mid-July, the City of Minneapolis is celebrating its sesquicentennial with a Celebrating our Minneapolis History program series at the Minneapolis Central Library featuring local historians, authors and educators.

The first in the series was last Wednesday evening, and it had a Native American focus. Librarian JoEllen Haugo (center photo, click to enlarge) was the event organizer. I had a modest table (right photo) among a dozen or so others where I met with interested people before the presentations and at break time.

The first session: Before Minneapolis: the land, native people.

Click play to listen to the first session (6-7 PM) or download the MP3. 1 hour 15 minutes.

Left: Moderator Amy Ollendorf, President, ALO Environmental Associates
Left center: Scott Anfinson, Minnesota State Archaeologist 
Right center: Arlo Omaha, Native American linguist
Right: Brenda Child, Associate Professor, American Indian Studies, U of MN

The second session: American Indians 20th Century Relocating to Minnesota Cities.

Click play to listen to the second session (7:30-8:30 pm) or download the MP3. 1 hour 12 minutes.

Left: Moderator Laura Waterman Wittstock, CEO, Wittstock and Associates
Center: Roger Buffalohead, former faculty member, American Indian Studies, U of MN
Right: Clyde Bellecourt, founder, American Indian Movement