ANNOUNCEMENTS
To get information out quickly, on very important topic.
Did you know we are on facebook?
Give us a look, leave a comment, like or share. See you there : )
www.facebook.com/MendotaDakota
2015 Fall Newsletter is now available.
Important Message and Legal disclosure for Inactive Members
Important Message and legal disclosure for Inactive Members:
Members who have inactive status were sent letters to their last known address.  Along with sending a letter, an announcement has been made in our newsletter, to our facebook page and to our website alerting them and describing their options.  Inactive members have 30 days to respond or their membership, after 30 days will be removed. If you are inactive or think you may be, please contact the office ASAP.
Phone: 651- 452-4141Â Email:Â mendotadakota@gmail.com
Removal of inactive members after two years of not paying dues, or any involvement with the community, will go to the tribal council & voting members who are active to voted to remove these inactive members. YOU MUST BE ACTIVE TO VOTE.
Sharon Lennartson Tribal Chairwoman
Chris Antiel Vice Chairperson
Marlene Dixon Treasurer / Secretary
Perry Altendorfer Historian
Lon Navarre Member at Large
John LeClaire Member at Large
Jim Anderson Cultural Advisor
The Doctrine of Discovery, Directed by Sheldon Wolfchild
The Doctrine of Discovery, Directed by Sheldon Wolfchild
Official Film/DVD Release Date Documentary Film Premiere for The Doctrine of Discovery Unmasking The Domination Code This powerful and landmark documentary “The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking The Domination Code†is a result of the collaborative efforts by Dakota filmmaker and Director Sheldon Wolfchild and Co-Producer Steven Newcomb (Shawnee, Lenape). The film, based on Newcomb’s thirty years of research, and his book Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery (Fulcrum, 2008), brings to the big screen an amazing and little known story. Narrated by Buffy Saint Marie. Friday, September 4th 2015 / Time: 7:30pm Pepitos Parkway Theater 4814 Chicago Ave South Minneapolis, MN 55417 Gather 7 pm Showing at 7:30 pm Free. Donations welcome. http://www.38plus2productions.com/…/
THE DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY
A story of historical truth, spirituality, and resistance, told on behalf of the original nations and peoples of Great Turtle Island, and elsewhere on Mother Earth. We are still here, and still rightfully free.
Directed by Sheldon P. Wolfchild
Co-produced by Steven T. Newcomb
Narration by Buffy Sainte-Marie
-Sharon Lennartson
FILM RELEASE Sept. 4th 2015
A note from Sheldon Wolfchild:
It has taken 6 years but we have finally completed our film. We are depending on social media to help promote film, and that is what I am asking your help with.
We would be very grateful if you can post the film information to your friends/contacts and any educational institutions in your area of the country.
The primary explanation of the content of the Documentary is on my web site, and if you agree, please help.
We will be posting a trailer on the web site soon.
With my deepest appreciation, I thank you.
Sheldon Wolfchild Dakota www.38plus2productions.com
The next Membership Meeting is Tue Oct 27 at 6:30, we will take new ID, at $10.00 each.
The next Membership Meeting is Tuesday Oct 27, 2015 at 6:30. We will be take new pictures for new ID. Only current and active members will get ID.
The next meeting is Tuesday Oct 27, 2015, at the DuPuis House at 6:30. We will take picture for new ID there is a $10.00 charge. Only current and active members will get new ID.
Many of the inactive members will received your letters over the next week for being inactive members. Many letters have been sent, look for the date on the email or your letter. If you have not received an email or letter within the new two weeks call office.
You have 30 days to respond after to get your letter or email. Make payment arrangement or you will be removed from membership. You need to pay two years of passed dues. If you were exempt last year you owe for 2015. You must show your income like bank statements, saving, social security any income to be exempt. If you don’t want to be exempt you don’t need to show your income. Dues are only $15.00 a month.
Sharon Lennartson Tribal Chairwoman
Chris Antiel Vice Chairperson
Marlene Dixon Treasurer / Secretary
Perry Altendorfer Historian
Lon Navarre Member at Large
John LeClaire Member at Large
Jim Anderson Cultural Adviser
The Doctrine of Discovery, Directed by Sheldon Wolfchild
THE DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY
A story of historical truth, spirituality, and resistance, told on behalf of the original nations and peoples of Great Turtle Island, and elsewhere on Mother Earth. We are still here, and still rightfully free.
Directed by Sheldon P. Wolfchild
Co-produced by Steven T. Newcomb
Narration by Buffy Sainte-Marie
-Sharon Lennartson
FILM RELEASE Sept. 4th 2015
A note from Sheldon Wolfchild:
It has taken 6 years but we have finally completed our film. We are depending on social media to help promote film, and that is what I am asking your help with.
We would be very grateful if you can post the film information to your friends/contacts and any educational institutions in your area of the country.
The primary explanation of the content of the Documentary is on my web site, and if you agree, please help.
We will be posting a trailer on the web site soon.
With my deepest appreciation, I thank you.
Sheldon Wolfchild Dakota www.38plus2productions.com
Don’t open an email from Zorpia!
I open an email that said that Joyce needed me to email her. I opened it and some how they got all my emails and sent them a email that said from Mendota is trying to reach you. Don’t open an email from Zorpia I never sent it. I don’t know what is going on???? Sharon
The new Winter 2015 Newsletter is available:
Doctrine of Discovery: Taking A Hard Look At Our History and Theology
This fall, Cherokee Park United Church is taking a hard look at difficult historical and theological truths about the tragic treatment of Dakota, Ojibwe and other Indigenous people by our state, nation and religious institutions. In cooperation with the St. Paul Interfaith Network (SPIN), we are seeking to come to terms with the significant role churches and faith communities played in genocide, crushing Native languages, cultures and religious practices. Cherokee Park United Church is one of four metro sites working with SPIN to host these conversations.
We will host two dialogue events at our church, Cherokee Park United Church 371 W Baker St, St Paul, MN (MAP)
-Monday, Oct. 13, Indigenous People’s Day, a public screening of the documentary film Doctrine of Discovery, presented by filmmaker Sheldon Wolfchild of the Lower Sioux Indian Community, followed by small group dialogues. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., event is from 7-9:15 p.m. (Film is appropriate for junior high school aged youth and up.)
-Tuesday, Oct. 28, 7– 9:15 p.m., a deeper exploration of issues of history, theology, and trauma raised by the film. Details to be determined.
NEWSLETTERS, current and archives
Now you can peruse the archive of old MMDC newsletters or the most current one here:
Wacipi Donation letter, can you help?
Sandra Krebsbach Mayor / City of Mendota Heights 08-20-2013
We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (ID #41563) whose mission is: To preserve, protect, and
promote the Dakota culture for future generations. Consistent with our mission, each year we hold
several programs and activities that focus on the preservation of the Dakota culture. Our largest (and
most costly) event is our annual Traditional Wacipi. Last year our attendance reached an all-time high
at an estimated 3,100 people ― that’s a large increase over the previous year. We expect this to increase
further, and participation to continue growing.
A Wacipi or (Pow-Wow) is a social gathering that focuses on traditional dance, song, and celebration.
More than a tribute to a great ancestry, the Wacipi is an event of significance to the Native American
Nations.
Our 14th Annual Traditional Wacipi or Pow-Wow is September 13 – 15 – 2013, in Mendota, Minnesota.
Our event is open to the public. Experiencing a Wacipi or Pow-Wow can be a valuable and fascinating
cultural experience. We’ve enclosed a flyer that you can copy and share with your families, coworkers,
church, or any associates. Please post wherever you can.
Our cost for the Wacipi is around $14,000.
This is also a way to support your local Native American Community.
As a small tribal community, we operate on volunteer labor and donations. (We are not affiliated with
the other Minnesota Mdewakanton Dakota communities.) Our volunteers donate hundreds of hours of
their time each year to hold a successful Wacipi. We cover the majority of our expenses by requesting a
$5 entry button donation. However, we will not turn away anyone who cannot pay. Along with relying
on individual and corporate donors, we pay for our event with in-kind donations, charging vendors for
craft booth space, and food booth sales.
$ 10
$100
$250
$350
$500
Other $__________
This year the Mendota Community really needs your help for the Wacipi. Along with cash donations
needed to fund this event, we also accept donations for our raffle table. If you make a donation, we put
you in our brochure. Please call our office at 651-452-4141 with any questions. We hope that you will
consider this request for the important work we do in preserving and sharing our Dakota heritage.
This year we are honoring Bob Brown, founder of our community. Who passed away 10 years ago this Aug.
The Wacipi or Pow Wow Committee & Sharon Lennartson
Download official letter with letterhead/logo HERE
ACH Easy Direct Payment Plan for Members
MMDC would like to remind you that a Direct Payment Plan option is available. You can have your payment made automatically from your checking or savings account. And, you won’t have to change your present banking relationship to take advantage of this service.
The Direct Payment Plan will help you in several ways:
- it saves time – fewer checks to write
- helps meet your commitment in a convenient and timely manner – even if you’re on vacation or out of town
- no lost or misplaced statements, your payment is always on time – it helps maintain good credit
- it saves postage
- it’s easy to sign up for, easy to cancel
- no late charges
Here’s how the Direct Payment Plan works:
You authorize regularly scheduled payment to be made from your checking or savings account. Then, just sit back and relax. Your payments will be made automatically on the specified day. And proof of payment will appear with your statement.
The Direct Payment Plan is dependable, flexible, convenient, and easy. To take advantage of this service, download and complete the appropriate authorization form below and return it to us.
ACH Automatic Payment for members including honorary:Â ACH Members Enrollment Form
New membership applications.
We are now taking new membership & honorary membership applications.
If you want to be an honorary member get your application in ASAP.
We will be having our voting and honorary meeting at St Peter’s Church on Oct 15, at 7:00 potluck!!
These and many more files can be found in our DOWNLOADS section.
Enrollment Application (Become a member) PDF
Honorary Enrollment Application PDF
If you can’t make this meeting, we always are taking application for membership, same with the honorary applications, when ever you get your application in.
Thank you for your support!
The Mendota Tribal Council.
Sharon
$3.4 Billion Cobell Settlement Cleared for Implementation
Tuesday, November 27, 2012 3:28 PM
$3.4 Billion Cobell Settlement Cleared for Implementation
The $3.4 billion Cobell Settlement became final last Friday, November 24, following action by the Supreme Court and expiration of the appeal period. The Settlement is the result of a class-action lawsuit first filed in 1996 by Elouise Cobell, Blackfeet, of Montana. The lawsuit sought an accounting of trust accounts held on behalf of 500,000 Indian trust beneficiaries. The Individual Indian Money accounts have been in existence for over 100 years and the subject of many claims of mismanagement and fraud. The Settlement was initially approved by Congress on November 30, 2010 and again by the district court on August 4, 2011 though it had since been held up by appeals.
As part of the historic Settlement, $1.5 billion will be distributed to class members for asset management claims and $1.9 billion will be allocated to the Cobell Land Consolidation Program to reduce the number of undivided interests in Indian trust land titles. Class members of the lawsuit could receive their first payments as early as Christmas. According to the Department of the Interior, an updated plan to implement the Cobell Land Consolidation Program will be released by the end of the year.
You can find additional information on the Cobell Settlement here:
U.S. Finalizes $3.4 Billion Settlement with American Indians (CNN)
Cobell Settlement to Begin Paying Out by Christmas (Indian Country Today)
Salazar Announces Final Steps on Cobell Litigation and Implementation of Settlement (U.S. Department of the Interior)
For more information on class-action payments, contact GCG, Inc. at 1-800-961-6109 or via email at info@indiantrust.com or visit the website www.indiantrust.com.
For more information on the Cobell Land Consolidation Program visit www.doi.gov/cobell.
Need help with Fed Recognition & grants
We are looking for some help with Federal Recognition, and grants if you can help us please call us. 651-452-4141
Dear Academic and Student Affairs Administrator, and others.
I am writing on behalf of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community. We are a 501 C-3 non-profit organization, ID #41563. Our mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the Dakota culture for current and future generations.
We are reaching out to local colleges to see if you could possibly help us. We are a very poor community and are in great need of a volunteer intern. In particular, we are looking for a college student who would like to gain some experience in researching and writing grant proposals. We are in need of money for the following purposes:
- Capital Campaign – Within the next 5 years we will be raising money to purchase a small property in Mendota or Mendota Heights so that we can have our own office and community center. We have been renting, however, new owners asked us to vacate the property so that they could tear it down.
- Develop classes to teach the Dakota language, culture, crafts and traditions to our members and others who are interested
- Develop programs and support initiatives to preserve our history and sacred land.
- Support our annual Wacipi (Pow Wow) to bring American Indians and friends of our community together.
- Conduct research and support our efforts for State and/or Federal recognition.
There is much for us to do and we would greatly appreciate your help. Could you publish this need on your website or in your newsletter? Could you post this letter on your community boards? Could you have the professors communicate our need to students? Or you may have a better means to get the word out.
The student would gain experience and learn through the process. This is a volunteer position, however, if we do receive a grant through the student volunteer’s effort we will gladly pay a stipend to the student for their work.
Our contact information is noted above. For any student interested in helping us, please contact us at 651-452-4141 and ask for Sharon.
Sincerely,
MMDC Tribal Council
Jim Anderson, Chair
Any events that Mendota has please check the website, and your emails for any cancellation.
Cancellation do happen sometimes, sorry for any inconvenience. You can always call the office at 651-452-4141 before you drive to Mendota.
The Mendota Tribal Council
Sharon
MMDC fundraising with Food Perspectives
The Mendota Dakota Tribe has been fundraising with Food Perspectives for about 5 years.
They are now doing everything online, and it is much easier to do. If you are interested, go to their website and sign on under Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community. When you do a test, part goes to Mendota. So if you made $35.00, $10.00 goes to Mendota. So far we have about 10 people in the community and outside of the community that do this. You can earn some money and the community gets a little too. It is fun to do, and only take less then an hour for most.
Your tribal council & Sharon
Dear FPI Organization Contact:
Thank you for your dedication to your nonprofit organization and for your interest in Food Perspectives. We are writing you today to inform you that there are great fundraising opportunities ahead. We have an extremely heavy testing schedule in the next few weeks and wanted you to know there will be plenty of testing opportunities ahead. Every time one of your members participates in a taste test, $10 goes to your organization!
Please be sure all testing members of your organization are checking their emails and/or going to our website to check for possible testing opportunities. The more folks who test, the more money raised for your organization!
Need to teach them how to check for available tests? Here’s how:
- Go to www.fpitesters.com
- Click on the Tester Info tab.
- Click on Login.
- Enter your PID and PIN.  Don’t know your PID or PIN? Click on the link on the bottom of the screen and we’ll email it to you, or call 763-354-2776 to get this info.
- Once logged in, click on Available Tests on the left column.
- Click on the survey you are interested in.
- That’s it! It’s easy!
If you would like a personalized flyer to distribute to your organization members, please simply reply to this email, remember to include your organization name, and we’ll email you a flyer to distribute to your group.
No Tribal or Voting Membership meetings in December.
Happy Holidays!
Your Tribal Council!
Sharon
NEW ITEMS ADDED/UPDATED
Genealogy / Census
If you or anyone you know needs to see a census, or some help with your genealogy please call the center at 651-452-4141.
Mendota Tribal Council
Mendota tribe struggles to keep language, culture alive.
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The two-story house in dot-on-the-map Mendota (population: 197) is more ragged than rustic.
White paint is peeling off doors. A side porch has collapsed. On the front lawn, weeds have won the turf war against grass.
But on Wednesday nights, supporters of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community try to forget they have trouble making rent on their ramshackle community center. There is important work to do here along Hwy. 13: There’s a language and culture to preserve.
The band of 200 to 300 people is working locally to increase the dwindling number of people who know the Dakota language and nationally to gain federal recognition as an independent tribe, a designation that would bring much-needed financial help.
Fewer than 10 Minnesotans speak fluent Dakota, tribal leaders and academics estimate. In a state with more than 5 million residents, that means one in every 500,000 people, at best, have command of the indigenous language whose roots date back centuries.
The weekly Dakota language classes are attended by five to 30 people, and the Mendota Dakota are trying to increase that number. Dakota speakers also teach weekly courses at Little Earth Neighborhood Education Center in Minneapolis on Mondays and American Indian Family Center, in St. Paul, on Fridays during the school year.
“It’s a very hard language,” said tribal council member Sharon Lennartson. “My brain just does not comprehend.”
The Mendota Dakota trace their plight back to the Dakota Conflict of 1862, when the Dakota waged war to protest unfair treatment. Afterward, the United States exiled most of them, removing their reservations in the process.
Tribal leaders estimate that fewer than 100 Dakotans remained. A people and their language suffered here as a result.
“Language is what holds and communicates a culture,” said Beth Brown, program associate for Dakota language at the University of Minnesota.
“The stakes are high now; people aren’t going to let it die.”
‘We’ve lost a lot of things’
At the Mendota community center, students and their instructor, who is more learner than learned, pore over their notebooks and crack open Dakota-English dictionaries.
Substitute teacher Brian Nackerud has studied Dakota for a couple of years; by his estimate, he has the language skills of a 4- or 5-year-old.
When spoken properly, Brown said, the language is nasal and guttural, with many sounds articulated in the nose and throat.
“It’s a real cool language,” Nackerud said. “There’s no swear words. The concept just isn’t there.”
Although thousands of people across North America speak Dakota, a member of Siouan language family, University of Minnesota staff peg the number of fluent Minnesotans at between five and eight. But even that is tenuous.
One of those people, Faith Bad Moccasin — the former instructor at the Mendota class — suffered a stroke this year that left her right arm paralyzed. She now uses a wheelchair and has daily therapy to fully restore her speech.
“It’s dying out,” said Bad Moccasin, 64. “We’ve lost a lot of things. Not only the language but our values and traditions.”
Tribal council member Lennartson, like many of her peers, wasn’t raised Dakota. When her grandmother was forced to leave Minnesota for boarding school in Carlisle, Pa., staff there tried to beat the Dakota language and culture out of her.
When she returned, she refused to speak the language or even talk about that period of her life. She chose not to teach her children or grandchildren out of love.
Now, Lennartson clings to whatever is left of her culture. For years, she’s volunteered at the community center.
As other tribe members have lost interest or hope, the 63-year-old has taken on bookkeeping, maintenance, receptionist and webmaster duties while battling chronic pain from fibromyalgia.
A recent renegotiation of the tribe’s lease allowed the council to afford a $25 weekly salary for Lennartson. By her calculations, that’s just enough for gas money.
“This might be our critical stage,” she said. “I just keep going. I’m here until the doors are shut and locked.”
Recognition and survival
The Mendota Dakota petitioned for federal recognition of tribal status in 1996; the designation would bring federal dollars, support and opportunities for expansion.
The funds could allow them to buy land, build their own cultural center and more aggressively pursue language education, among other things.
The effort appears to have fallen flat. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a letter requesting more information in 1997. “We haven’t heard from them since,” said Nedra Darling, bureau spokeswoman.
In the past 30 years, close to 300 groups have petitioned for federal recognition. Few have met the demanding criteria.
“If you don’t have many people working on it, it’s going to be difficult,” Darling said.
There are more than 500 federally recognized tribes in the United States, including 11 in Minnesota.
Mendota Dakota council members plan to renew their campaign this fall, cultural chairman Jim Anderson said.
But with their lack of resources and manpower, “I don’t think it’s going to happen in my lifetime,” Lennartson said.
For now, rent for the community center is paid for this month and next. And like their language, the Mendota Dakota are hanging on in Minnesota.
“Our culture will not be lost on the generations to come,” said Martha Fast Horse, a language student and community activist.
“It will not.”
Corey Mitchell • 612-673-4491
NEW FILES ADDED. Vendor App and POW WOW flyer
They can be downloaded from the DOWNLOADS PAGE
KQRS, Tom Barnard will issue a public apology.
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Han Mitakuyepi,
The business meeting with, Marc Kalman, president of Citadel Broadcasting to address the racist comments made by Tom Barnard on 5/14/10, was a victory. My radio show will continue to air on KQRS, 93X, and LOVE 105. The interview with Waziyatawin, Ph.D. will air on Sunday 6/13/10. Tom Barnard will issue a public apology for his remarks on the KQ Morning Show. Special thanks to everyone who called and emailed the station, came to the organizing meeting this morning, and to Margery Otto and Eduardo Cardenas for coming to the studio with me.
It is a good day for the people to live…
Wopila tanka,
Martha
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Pitcher Jessalyn Weaver started 66 games in her three-year career with the Hamline University softball team.
.   She graduates from Hamline on Saturday and will go to the U of M Graduate School. Just an FYI – here is an article about her that was on the NCAA web site.
Pitcher Jessalyn Weaver started 66 games in her three-year career with the Hamline University softball team, but it’s her next start that might be the most impressive of all.
This fall, she will begin work on a Ph.D. in the biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics program at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
Weaver will continue research begun while an undergraduate student at Hamline, which is located in St. Paul.
“The focus of the lab is on beneficial mutation and innate immunity, specifically for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),†she said. “The project that I have been working on and will continue to work on as a graduate student is elucidating the binding characteristics of two proteins involved in the HIV infection and replication.â€
Weaver, who transferred to Hamline from Wisconsin-River Falls before the start of her sophomore year, posted a 3.75 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry. She received the Ruth Sullivan Award, given to the Hamline junior biology student of the year and a Walter A. Kenyon Award for outstanding senior biology students.
On the field, Weaver posted a career record of 44-28 with five saves in 86 appearances. Her career earned-run average is 3.15, and she struck out 259 batters in 452.0 innings pitched.
“Not only have I enjoyed my academic experience at Hamline, but I have also really enjoyed playing softball,†she said. “Being a student-athlete was challenging, but it would have been much more difficult if I wouldn’t have had such great professors who understood my commitment to my sport and such great coaches who understood the importance of academics.â€
For more on Weaver’s experience at Hamline and her work at Minnesota, read her post available at the “Inside Piper Athletics†blog.
The local Twin Cities office of the National Park Service, known as MNRRA, the National Mississippi River and Recreation Area
The local Twin Cities office of the National Park Service, known as MNRRA, the National Mississippi River and Recreation Area, has provided clarification on who it was within the agency who made the decision almost four years ago to reject the findings of a government consultant–which stated in an Ethnographic Study, that Coldwater Spring at the Bureau of Mines Twin Cities Campus property near Fort Snelling in Hennepin County, Minnesota, is a place of traditional cultural importance for Dakota people.
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