CULTURAL HUMILITY SERIES:
The Dakota Community
Mni Sota Makoce (Minnesota) is a sacred land to the Dakota people. Considered the birthplace of the Dakota Oyate (Dakota Nation), the area is highlighted in Dakota creation stories — along with Bdote (where the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers meet) and Bde Wakan (Lake Mille Lacs).
Understanding this connection to this land and its natural resources, and how they provide a basis for all Dakota society and culture, lays the foundation for a deeper understanding of the generational trauma experienced by the community today.
This trauma was caused by a number of events, including the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, the ensuing mass execution of 38 Dakota men in Mankato, and the forcible removal and exile of thousands of Dakota from their homelands. These acts and others contributed to decades of genocide, oppression, and invisibility, but even still, the Dakota have endured.
Today, the Dakota people continue to return to Minnesota and their traditional ways. They’re reclaiming the land, culture, foods, medicines and language that were taken from them. Their story of endurance and strength can instruct all communities on surviving trauma and thriving despite all odds.
Continue reading to deepen your understanding of the Dakota people, their incredible journey, and how you can become a better ally to the community.
Community Demographics and History
Ancestrally, this [land] is where my people are, these are where our creation stores are.”
Graci Horne
(Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe)
There are four federally-recognized Dakota communities in Minnesota:
What is Tribal Sovereignty?
Federally recognized communities have tribal sovereignty. This means the community governs itself, provides its own infrastructure, and interacts independently with the U.S. local, county, state and federal governments.
WHAT TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY LOOKS LIKE
WHAT IS TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY?
The Prairie Island Indian Community owns and operates Treasure Island Resort and Casino, the largest employer of Goodhue County, which has a population of 46,340.
The Prairie Island tribal government is in the planning process to achieve a net-zero carbon emissions footprint.
WHAT IS TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY?
The Lower Sioux Community is comprised of 145 families who live on 1,743 acres of tribal land in Redwood County.
WHAT IS TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY?
The Upper Sioux Community's population is 482, and its total land base is 1,440 acres near Granite Falls.
WHAT IS TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY?
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, located in Scott County, was the 13th-largest grantmaker in Minnesota in 2012.
WHAT IS TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY?
The Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community has 125 active members and is currently seeking federal recognition as a sovereign tribe.
COMMUNITY CULTURAL HEALTH
Each Native American community has its own cultural traditions around health. And yet, all Native American communities are united by the enduring impact of centuries of colonial oppression. The mental and physical strain of generational trauma and chronic health conditions stems from shared histories of forced relocation, mistreatment and genocide. However, through a return to ancestral customs and practices, Native communities are restoring community cultural health.
The prevalence of diabetes in the American Indian community illustrates how systemic racism impacts Native communities’ health. American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest rates of diabetes of any ethnic group in the United States. Members of those communities are two to three times more likely than white individuals to die from diabetes. This prevalence is linked to, and exacerbated by, the lack of access to healthy foods on tribal lands, where Native communities were historically forced to rely on nutritionally inadequate, government-provided rations.
CULTURALLY-BASED SOLUTIONS TO HEALTH CHALLENGES
Recognizing and validating the significant impact of historical trauma on Native people is an essential first step toward community healing. Dr. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart (Hunkpapa/Oglala Lakota), an associate professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of New Mexico, is a leader in researching and implementing interventions to heal historical trauma in Native communities.
The Native community also advances healing through food. Seeds of Native Health, a grassroots organization funded by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, seeks to restore healthful diets to Native communities. In partnership with the University of Minnesota, Seeds of Native Health hosts the Annual Conference on Native American Nutrition.
SNAPSHOTS OF
Dakota Culture & Customs
The word Minnesota is derived from the Dakota place name Mni Sota Makoce, “the land of cloud-tinted waters.” The Dakota creation story recounts that Dakota life began in this land.
Although the concept of a powwow has been appropriated and misrepresented in the mainstream media, the practice remains a crucial element of the Dakota community. Powwows are multigenerational gatherings with dancing, singing, and socializing. Non-Native people are sometimes welcome to respectfully observe this tradition.
The Dakota community carries a deep respect for the physical environment. Their decisions around land use and care are based on thinking and planning seven generations ahead.
A lot of people in their…early 20s,...they’re really interested in learning their language, and they want to learn it before it goes extinct, really…younger people say, ‘Hey, I want to keep this alive here for the next generations.’”
Šišóka Dúta
(Dakhota, Sisíthuŋwaŋ Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ Oyáte)
Dakota Language Revitalization
For decades, Dakota people were forced to abandon their culture’s language. Adults had to speak English to gain the few employment opportunities available to them in cities; children were violently punished by teachers for speaking Dakota at school.
Language is one of the strongest links to bond a community and honor one’s heritage, which is why Dakota communities are embracing the urgent challenge of reclaiming and reenergizing the Dakota language for future generations.
Of the 4,000 Dakota people living in Minnesota, only a handful of fluent speakers remain.
The Native American Languages Act (1990) is federal legislation that repudiated efforts to suppress or eliminate Native languages.
A Living Learning Community is being established at the University of Minnesota for students to immerse themselves in the Dakota language.
LEADERS IN MINNESOTA
Maggie Lorenz
Nonprofit leader Maggie Lorenz (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe/Spirit Lake Dakota), executive director & Wakaŋ Tipi Center director, Lower Phalen Creek Project, seeks to honor landscapes in the Twin Cities that have significant meaning to Dakota people.
Vanessa GoodThunder
Vanessa GoodThunder (Bdewaḳaƞṭuwaƞ Dakota/Tódich'ii'nii Dine Navajo), director of the Lower Sioux Early Head Start and Head Start Dakota language-immersion program in Morton, hopes revitalizing the Dakota language will be healing for the Dakota community.
Resources to Further Explore the Community
- The Land, Water, and Language of the Dakota, Minnesota's First People | MNopedia
- Dakota Wicohan | The Dakota Way of Life
- Resources & Links | American Indian Studies, University of Minnesota
- IllumiNative
- MN Indian Affairs Council: Education Resources
- We Are Still Here Minnesota
- ChangeMakers: Indigenous Minnesotans Making History | MPR News
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