Part documentary and part interview of Jim Anderson, the new chairperson of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Council. We journey deep into the history of the Twin Cities area and touch on the Mdewakanton Dakota people’s creation story, history with French traders, the Louisiana Purchase, the Treaty of 1805, the beginning of white settlement in Minnesota, Henry Sibley’s relationship with local Indigenous people, the US-Dakota War of 1862, and ongoing struggles by the Mendota Dakota community to retain Dakota traditions and land. (June ’11)
Length: 1 hour