On a beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon on September 15th, the Minneapolis Central Library invited artist and historian Scott Seekins to display and discuss his latest work in response to cultural and religious aspects of the 1862 Dakota War. This presentation helped to promote a challenging view of the government policies, practices, and behavior of religious organizations through the artwork and media releases, such as Governor Ramsey’s public attempt at Genocide against Native Americans in Minnesota. The main presentation and description of this ‘theme’ in his art was insightful and helped this author explore more detailed facts of the racism and hostile causes of this inevitable and tragic war. As we take time to ‘celebrate diversity’ after more than 150 years of Statehood we are reminded of our continual struggles for unity still happening today in “A very polarized city” (Scott Seekins). As I spoke with the artist, my own ignorance of Little Crow, The Concentration/Prison Camp at Fort Snelling, Native American “War-Brides” and other facts became more and more evident. The influence of The Civil War, Cross-Cultural cooperation, and using Disease as a weapon were among the topics also discussed at this event. I thank the library for their time, space, and resources and I thank Scott Seekins for his work on this and many more to come.
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