DIVERSE HERITAGE NATIVE HERITAGE By Aegor Ray According to the Bdewakantonwan Dakota creation story, Dakota people and life began in Minnesota. Through oral histories, we know that the Anishinaabe migrated here through a passage of the Great Lakes and clashed with the Dakota, but eventually came together in peace. Today, there are 11 sovereign indigenous nations in Minnesota. The seven Anishinaabe nations are the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, White Earth Band of Ojibwe and Red Lake Nation. The four Sioux nations are the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Prairie Island Indian Community, Lower Sioux Indian Community and Upper Sioux Indian Community. Red Lake Nation White Earth Nation Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Bois Forte Band GRAND PORTAGE of Chippewa NATIONAL Fond Du Lac Band MONUMENT of Lake Superior Lake Chippewa Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Lower Sioux 35 Community 94 Upper Sioux Community Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community PIPESTONE NATIONAL MONUMENT Prairie Island Indian Community EXPLORE MINNESOTA’S Superior Minnesota is home to many heritage sites that explore Native history, artistry and living culture, including the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post in Central Minnesota; Grand Portage National Monument along Lake Superior; Hoċokata Ti , the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux’s cultural center and gathering space; and the Jeffers Petroglyphs in Southwestern Minnesota, a rocky AT THE HEART OF THE outcrop of over 4,000 images carved by indigenous societies as long ago ORIGINAL PEOPLE as 7000 B.C. IS SOVEREIGNTY, Another such site, Reconciliation Park in Mankato, highlights one of the darkest COMMUNITY AND moments in U.S.-Dakota relations. The park is located by the site of the A PROFOUND largest mass execution in U.S. history, where 38 Dakota men were hanged as RELATIONSHIP the last act of the U.S.-Dakota War of TO THE LAND. 1862. Inspired by the vision of Vernell Wabasha, a Dakota elder, the park features a buffalo monument carved from local Kasota limestone that is surrounded by prairie grasses. This somber monument is a commitment to healing between Dakota and non-Dakota peoples. Native nations in Minnesota today have survived hundreds of years of calculated violence and, extraordinarily, have preserved their cultural legacies and traditions. At the heart of the original people is sovereignty, community and a profound relationship to the land—its waterways and seasons, all the gifts it has to offer. Minnehaha Sculpture in Minneapolis Photo by Barbara Kopietz Native American basket made of wild rice and birch bark at Mille Lacs Lake Indian Museum 40 | EXPLORE MINNESOTA .COM
Explore Minnesota Travel Guide 2021 Explore Minnesota Travel Guide: Page 40
