This is a personal
witness to the importance of a Day for remembering the Native people of
Minnesota and everywhere. A Northern European Immigrant family member, I honor the Ojibway, Chippewa, Sioux and other
tribal people. They have treated me with dignity. Some of them invited me to
lead a Smoke Ceremony at one time in my role as a clergyperson.
I am not
interested in honoring a Genoese European by the name of Columbus. He is known
to have been part of the slave trade and apparently never was on the ground in
the America that we know.
There are
seven Anishinaabe (Chippewa and Ojibway) Reservations and four Dakota (Sioux)
communities in Minnesota. My knowledge is based on experience at Mille Lacs,
White Earth, Bois Forte, Lower Sioux, and Shakopee Mdewakanton.
I have
learned that it is frustrating for Native peoples to put up with the
humiliation and sense of homelessness that comes when your land is taken by invaders;
when your traditional religion is disrespected; when your artistic creations
are seen as quaint; and native women have their dignity broken.
It is
encouraging to see native women speaking out for traditions and rights as well
as organizing in the community. Native men are in the business world and
displaying their strength as fathers and overcoming addictions. Elders are
honored and are an example for the dominant culture.
America is a
country of many cultures. This grand experiment is only just beginning.
Delton 10-9-17
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