Urgent open letter to all peoples of good heart about the current situation of the MMDTC.
From the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community.
BE DAKOTA EVERY DAY!
We are the Mendota Mdewakanton Tribal Dakota Community, and we are here today fulfilling that prophesy as best we can in the place where our direct ancestors lived.
Many generations ago, our elders prophesized that a time would come when their descendants would return to the birthplace of the Dakota Nation to protect its sacred sites and bring Dakota culture back to its place of origin. This place is the b’dota (mistranslated by the French as Mendota), the joining together place, of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.
For the past 21 years we have been doing this by: Or Mendota Pow wow is always the second week in Sept. In 2017 will be our 17th pow wow.
Please check out our website www.mendotadakota.com for any updates about the pow wow, we may go back to August again?
Mendota has monthly Inipis at the DuPuis House.
If you show and you want to become an descendant member of the community there is a application under downloads too.
Want to become an honorary member, go to downloads at our website print the Honorary application send to the tribal office. You will get a certificate that you are a honorary members.
We are looking for descendants from the 550 part 5 of the Johnson and Jones report 1856.  OUR GOAL IS TO UNITE ALL MIXED BLOOD FAMILIES.
Mendota has monthly membership meetings please check the website for these too. Mendota has about 180 members in good standing.
Successfully fighting for the preservation of the sacred spring (Mnihdoka Wakan) known as Coldwater Springs (Go here, COLD WATER SPRINGS to learn more)
Saving our sacred burial place, Oheyawahe, (now called Pilot Knob Hill) and other burial mounds from suburban development
Working with the Minnesota State Park Service in order to hold ceremonies honoring our ancestors in the sacred b’dota area of Fort Snelling State Park that all are welcome to join. We do this the first Saturday in February of every year.
Bringing back together, through our pow wows and other activities, the scattered descendants of the b’dota Mdewakanton Dakota tribe who lived here for countless generations but were never granted official tribal status or land.
Revitalizing the use of the Dakota language in its native land was the longest continuous Dakota language classes 15 years. We had to cancel our classes for a while. Language and culture class will continue in March of 2017.
Receiving spiritual training and support from elders in other Dakota/Lakota/Nakota tribes.
Numerous presentations to elementary through college level schools and other organizations to help create understanding and support for our work within the non-native community.
These summer will be working with the MDHS to tell our story about the D’dota Dakota story at the DuPuis House. Many members in our community are descendants of DuPuis.
We are actively working on Federal Government for full tribal recognition. We applied for federal recognition back in 1997 but were turned down.
We have done all this with a good heart and unwavering commitment for the past 21 years and we have plans to do much more.
But now our sources of funding is needed for Mendota, the home of our ancestors.
We plan to be here for more than seven times seven generations, but right now we need your help!
We are asking for help to buy land, and put a double wide trailer on that land.
WE NEED A COMMUNITY CENTER FOR OUR PEOPLE TO GO TOO FOR LANGUAGE CLASS, CULTURE CLASS, ALSO PLACE FOR OUR ELDERS TO COME BY AND VISIT JUST TO TALK AND HAVE COFFEE FOR ALL OUR MEETINGS. FOR OTHERS TO COME BY JUST TO VISIT SEE WHO THE MENDOTA PEOPLE ARE. WE NEED OUR OWN PLACE, IT HAS BEEN 21 YEARS IT IS TIME.
We will continue our work and fulfill our mission. (See MISSION STATEMENT)
WE HAVE SPENT YEARS CONTESTING AGAINST POWERFUL, WELL FINANCED FORCES THAT WANTED TO DEMOLISH SACRED Sites IN THE TWIN CITIES METROPOLITAN AREA for ECONOMIC GAIN. WE HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THESE FIGHTS AND WANT TO CONTINUE AS EFFECTIVE, VIGILANT DEFENDERS OF THE SACRED LANDS OF OUR ANCESTORS.
We have nourished a renaissance of Dakota culture in this area, freely made available to peoples of all races and colors.
We need your FINANCIAL support right now TO BUY SOME LAND.!
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Use this link: DONATIONS PAYPAL to go to the page on our website from which you can choose the amount and type of donation you wish to make. Whatever level you can afford to help us at will be greatly appreciated! We are a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, so your donations are 100% tax deductable. In supporting us financially you will be helping our efforts to fulfill the prophesies of our elders which motivate us to keep on going no matter what the obstacles! We are going to be using gofundme also.
If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us by phone at (651) 452-4141, or send an email to mendotadakota@gmail.com
There is one more thing we need to ask of you. Whether or not you are able to contribute anything right now, PLEASE take two or three minutes and send the link to this page, http://www.mendotadakota.com to all your friends and ask them to please send it to their friends as well. If you are on facebook or any other social networking sites, please send our homepage link to your friends there as well. In this way our message will spread.
PIDAMAYA, from the Tribal Council
Sharon Lennartson Tribal Chairwoman
DOWNLOAD this letter as a PDF file HERE
DOWNLOAD this letter as a DOC file HERE