Unearthing the state’s past

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The accidental unearthing of remains of American Indians has become a rather common occurrence in the state. This according to Annamarie Hill and Jim Jones, executive director and cultural resource director, respectively, at the Indian Affairs Council. “I bring forward the voice of the American Indian people, the voices of the past, our ancestors that lay within the grounds,” Jones said during testimony before the House Cultural and Outdoor Resources Finance Division this session on how the constitutional legacy money should be spent. “Ancestors that keep getting accidentally unearthed, excavated, removed. Remains that are turned over to us almost every month. Continue Reading

Responses to Statehood provides venue for Native perspectives

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Waziyatawin (Angela Wilson), Ph.D., a Dakota scholar and activist, and the Minnesota Humanities Center in Saint Paul have collaborated to create Responses to Statehood, an online video project that showcases Dakota and Ojibwe perspectives on Minnesota statehood and the sesquicentennial. The project began airing in November when the Humanities Center began launching new videos weekly. New videos will be uploaded through December. See videos on MN Humanities Commission siteWaziyatawin (Wahpetunwan Dakota) hosts each chapter, providing video commentary on such topics as: the forced removal, ethnic cleansing and genocide, boarding schools, allotment, and the seizure of Native lands. All videos and support material can be found under “Special Projects” on the center’s main website. Continue Reading

Kola Program faces major cuts from Hennepin County: Given three months’ notice that its entire funding will be cut

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The American Indian Community Development Corporation (AICDC) in Minneapolis recently received a letter from Hennepin County announcing that it planned to cut all funding for the Kola Program, which provides medical services to homeless people with a focus on Native people struggling with alcoholism. Kola, which means “friend” in Lakota, serves 30-60 clients a day and over the years has helped thousands of homeless men and women. The letter stated that Hennepin County would zero out its funds for Kola in three months, due to the county’s overall budget deficit. It invited AICDC to request a hearing if the agency wanted to appeal. Michael Goze (Ho-Chunk), President of AICDC, said he participated in hearings on November 3 and 17 to protest the $164,000 cut. Continue Reading

Indian princess in Duluth?

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Early this fall, the Indian Scout and I fell into a conversation about the City of Duluth-owned stained glass window that the Duluth mayor wanted to sell to ease the budget deficit. A Duluth artist created the 115-year-old window called “Minnehaha” that shows an Indian woman.The window and its cash value had been the object of a flurry of newspaper and television stories that described the window Indian as a “princess.” After much hand-wringing, Duluth city officials decided against selling the window. Still, I wanted to see the princess at the center of such contention. Let’s scoot to the big city and find her, I urged the Scout. So off we hastened to the Duluth Depot by way of Skyline Drive that runs parallel to Interstate 35. Continue Reading

‘Dots and Feathers’ explores identity and culture

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Using dance, music and spoken verse, ‘Dots and Feathers’ attempts to bring to life the issues of race and identity in the Asian Indian and Native American communities, creating a bridge between the two cultures. Katha Dance Theater, in collaboration with area artists, presents, “Dots and Feathers,” this weekend at the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul. “Dots and Feathers” on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $24 for adults and $15 for students and children, with special rates for groups, MPR members and seniors. Continue Reading