Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribe

Diane Wilson will be our guest at culture class on May 29, at the DuPuis House in Mendota from 6:30 to 8:30.

Thunderwoman — Sat, 25 May 2013 13:45:09 +0000

Hau mitakuyepi,

Culture class will be held next Wednesday, May 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 at the DuPuis House in Mendota.

For this class we have a special guest lined up. Diane Wilson from Dream of Wild Health farm in Hugo will be coming to talk about traditional foods, plants, and seeds from the perspective of cultural recovery. She will also be talking about the work being done with indigenous seeds at the farm.

This is an exciting opportunity for anyone who is interested in traditional Native foods and agriculture, and how they relate to our culture. I hope to see you there!

Nick Anderson
MMDC Historian

Diane Wilson will be our guest at culture class on May 29, at the DuPuis House in Mendota from 6:30 to 8:30. She will have her books to sell.

Diane Wilson

The Dakota people have lived in Minnesota for thousands of years. But in many ways, the contemporary experience of Dakota life dates back only 150 years, to 1862.

That August, a band of Dakota warriors, whose families faced starvation after a series of broken treaties, swindles and various mistreatments at the hands of white settlers, retaliated with a string of brutal killings across the state. Settlers and the U.S. government responded in kind, and by the end of summer, hundreds of men, women and children on both sides were dead and the Dakota people were forcibly expelled from the state.

That wasn’t the end of the story, though. In her memoir, “Spirit Car,” Diane Wilson, who has both Dakota and European ancestry, talks about the next 150 years for the Dakota people, starting from her own family’s perspective over five generations. After the war, the Dakota were imprisoned, executed and marched out of the state. Families were separated, and for generations, native children were forcibly taken from their homes and sent to boarding schools, and Dakota language and spirituality were outlawed.

150 years of trauma

“In those next 150 years, our community lost its children, its language and its native foods, leading to extreme rates of diabetes. Native teenagers now have the highest rates of suicide and depression.

Poverty is persistent. This all connects back to 150 years of trauma. But 150 years is a very small part of the Dakota’s thousands of years in this place. So how do we turn this into something positive for the community and turn that into a better way of life for our children?”

In part, she says, by talking about it. “Spirit” Car was selected as this year’s One Minneapolis One Read title, and Wilson is participating in numerous discussions about her book as part of the events marking the anniversary of the War of 1862. You may have seen the billboards.

“Who puts a book event on a billboard? It amazes me. And on bus signs,” Wilson says. “To me, that is unprecedented, to ask the community, on a billboard, to read the same book, and take part in a conversation about it.

“The most common thing I hear from people is, ‘I didn’t know about this, I didn’t learn about it before.’ Many people had no idea this conflict happened, and knew nothing about the removal afterward or the impact this history had on the Dakota people. So that fact that so many people are willing to commit to the education part of this conversation is a good thing. The Star Tribune did this big series in the paper — that was unprecedented. The History Center taking so much time and effort to connect with Dakota, from Canada to Montana, to bring Dakota people into the planning of the exhibit — that was good. My feeling is that when we commit to educating our young people about the history of the state in a truthful way, it helps bring us all together.”

Also runs Dream of Wild Health

In addition to writing (Wilson’s “Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life” explores the impact losing so many children in the years following the war had on the community), Wilson is a farmer, and runs Dream of Wild Health, a 10-acre farm in Hugo devoted to crops with historical and medicinal significance to native people. Throughout the summer, the farm hosts groups of teenagers fe decline of the dakota people to the decline of the great buffalo herds more than anything else.

the east only took the hides and horns to satisfy the demands of the NY fashion industry.

By the end of the century the buffalo herds were gone and with them a major part of the Dakota livelihood.

Mark G. LaPointe passed away into the spirit world on May 10, 2013.

Thunderwoman — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:02:21 +0000


Mark G. LaPointe
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on Apr. 29, 1948 Departed on May 10, 2013 and resided in Cottage Grove, MN.

Visitation:	Tuesday, May 14, 2013 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Service:	Wednesday, May 15, 2013 11:00 am
Cemetery:	Cottage Grove Cemetery
Please click on the links above for locations, times, maps, and directions.

Mark G. LaPointe
Age 65, of Cottage Grove Passed away as smooth as glass on Friday, May 10, 2013. Mark will be remembered for his amazing life. He was awarded the bronze star for serving in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War. Mark celebrated his 38 years of sobriety in February. He was awarded the Governor’s Citizen award for his Acts of Kindness in 2000. His active participation in life included founder of the talking circle for juvenile offenders in the Dakota County Juvenile Center in 1998. Along with his wife Kay, The Restorative Justice Practice of Circle Sentencing was established in Washington County in 1998. They received their training in the Yukon Territory in Canada and went on to train others in the Ukraine, Nebraska, Duluth, Department of Corrections, and many other locations. Mark also volunteered with the Washington County Offender Recovery Program. Mark was deeply involved with American Indian tradition. He is a keeper of the Sacred Pipe and was a honor guard for the Medawakantan Wacipi Pow Wow in Mendota. And a duck Hunter. Preceded in death by father, Gerard; brothers, Michael, Thomas, and Peter. Survived by wife, Kay Longtin; children, Shannon LaPointe, and Troy Lind; stepson, Dion (Terry) Longtin; grandsons, Mack and Reece; mother, Berniece; siblings, Nicholas (Sharon), Paul (Betty), Liz (Dale) Thurber, Margaret (Mickey) Hylton, and Ann (Daryl) Reinhardt; sister-in-laws, Kathy, Elaine, and Betty; and many nieces and nephews. Visitation 4-8 PM, Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at Kok Funeral Home, 7676 80th St. S., Cottage Grove and continues one hour prior to the service, Wednesday. Funeral Service 11 AM, Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at the funeral home. Interment at Cottage Grove Cemetery. Memorials preferred to Washington County Community Circles.

Wicoie Nandagikendan’s Preschool  Children’s  POWWOW!

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:30:18 +0000

Wicoie Nandagikendan’s Preschool Children’s Powwow!!

Wicoie Nandagikendan

Preschool  Children’s Powwow!!
Friday, May 17
10:00am – 12:00pm
Minneapolis American Indian Center
1530 E. Franklin Ave.
in the Outdoor Space

For more information please contact:  Kim

612‐721‐4246
bowleeoh@msn.com

website: http://wicoienandagikendan.org/

Children’s_Powow PDF

14th Wacipi Sept 13-15 Donations needed for giveaway!

Thunderwoman — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:37:11 +0000

Mendota’s 14 Annual Traditional Wacipi Sept 13- 15-2013.

We will have a giveaway this year, your donations will be appreciated.

We are on drumhop, powwow.com, and will be in the circle in April, also in Indian Country Today.

We will be honoring my brother Bob Brown this year, it will be 10 years since he passed in to the spirit world.

If you have anything about Bob you would like to share please send to the Mendota office or call 651-452-4141, www.mendotadakota.com

Linda Brown, and Bev Scott, and others will be in charge of what we but together.

Your Tribal Council & Sharon

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Thunderwoman — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:02:53 +0000

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