May is American Indian Month in Minnesota
“There is need within our society for greater recognition and understanding of the unique relationship between tribal and state governments…We also recognize the need for greater understanding of the cultural depth of the traditional practices of American Indians and the need to preserve this heritage by sharing and learning through cultural exchanges….The American Indian community seeks to celebrate its tribal heritage and commemorate its ancestors and future generations through presenting and participating in cultural events and exchanging dialogues with citizens throughout the month of May.” 2007 proclamation declaring May as American Indian Month in Minnesota last year.
This year, American Indian Month also occurs in May in Minnesota. (The National Native American Heritage Month is November). In 2008, May is also the month we recognize 150 years of statehood. In honor of American Indian Month, the staff of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission would like to offer this statement, 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 geographic place we call Minnesota became the 32nd state in the United States of America on May 11, 1858. For thousands of years before that, indigenous people called this same place their sacred homeland.
Across the North American continent, from the colonial times on through the creation of the United States of America, people who believed in westward expansion and the concept of Manifest Destiny pushed out indigenous cultures, through land purchases and treaties.
Minnesota’s creation as a political entity of the United States was no exception. In fact it was at the center of a particularly tragic intersection of history, with the U.S. Civil War on the horizon and settlers moving into Minnesota in record numbers between territory status (1849 – population about 6000) and statehood (1858 – population over 150,000).
By 1862, as the Civil War took hold in the east, American Indians in Minnesota had lost most of their land. Treaty payments were late, traders refused to extend credit or supplies, and native peoples were starving.
These conditions led to one of the greatest tragedies in American history, the Dakota Conflict in western Minnesota. After the short but bloody war, with many deaths and injury on all sides, hundreds of American Indians were marched from western Minnesota to Ft. Snelling, and incarcerated there in the internment camp (on what is some of the most sacred land in Native American culture).
The remaining Indians were exiled outside of Minnesota and 38 Dakota men were executed by hanging, near the shores of the Minnesota River in Mankato on December 26, 1862, the day after Christmas, by order of President Abraham Lincoln. It was the largest mass execution in American history.
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.
They are many resources available to do this and we will endeavor to point you towards them, starting with these links (and we welcome others):
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council
Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota
American Indians and Human Rights in Minnesota
Minnesota Historic Sites
Minnesota State Parks
Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Territory history exhibit
MN150 exhibit
Books on American Indian history & culture