Allison Herrera

Uptake Editor’s note: “Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota,” was the winner in the Minnesota category of the 2013 Minnesota Book Awards, which were announced Saturday. Congratulations to authors Gwen Westerman and Bruce White. — updated Sunday, April 14 at 8:07 a.m.

A snowy Minneapolis Monday was the backdrop as about 80 environmental activists protested outside Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office on Washington Avenue to demand that Klobuchar reverse course and vote against approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

Last week, janitors represented by SEIU Local 26 got a new contract deal after 31 hours of negotiation. It included raises and secure health benefits. Retail cleaning workers, who clean for some of the same companies as the janitors do, can’t boast of such a deal. That’s why a small group of these workers walked off the job today in a “targeted” one-day strike during a week of action sponsored by Centro de Trabajadores en Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL), SEIU Local 26 and Take Action Minnesota.

At first glance, Gordon Coons’ painting 1862-Mankato 38 may look like any other American flag. But it isn’t. Look closer and you’ll see a rope, the kind used to tie a noose, framing the edges. You’ll also see the names of 38 Dakota warriors who were hanged in the largest mass execution in U.S. history on December 26th, 1862. Most had been convicted by a military court of participating in the US-Dakota War that had begun in August that year. Unrepresented by any legal defense, the 38 were hanged in Mankato in front of a crowd of thousands of white spectators.