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Events->Pow Wows: Pow Wow: Dakota Mahkato Mdewakanton Wacipi

Posted on Monday, March 18 @ 14:29:30 PST

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SOURCE: Canku Ota(Many Paths), An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America

One of our favorite pow wows is the Mahkato Wacipi. Learn more about it in this article.

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The Mdewakanton Association provides an avenue for bridging the gap in Indian-White relations in the Mankato area. The purpose of the Association is:

To create a climate for positive interaction between Mdewakanton Dakota and non-Dakota people.
To learn about and promote an understanding of the Mdewakanton Dakota culture.
To contribute to a broaden understanding of Mdewakanton Dakota people and their contributions to this community's development.

As a means of realizing these purposes, the Mdewakanton Association has for many years cosponsored and helped organize events with the Dakota communities that have allowed descendants of the 38 Dakota to feel comfortable in returning to their ancestral home.

One of the primary cosponsored and co-organized events has been the Mahkato pow-wow or Wacipi (Wa-CHEE-pee meaning "dance" in Dakota).

Having a cultural event like this in Mankato is unique for two reasons. First, there are no reservations near Mankato. Secondly, the creation of this annual Wacipi grew out of a friendship, in the late 1950s, between two men, Mr. Amos Owen, a Dakota elder, pipe maker and spiritual advisor to many from the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Community (90 miles northeast of Mankato) and Mr. Bud Lawrence, a Mankato non-Dakota businessman.

As an outgrowth of this friendship, the first Mankato pow-wow since the 1800s was put on at the YMCA in 1965. Since 1972, an annual three-day traditional Dakota Mahkato Mdewakanton Wacipi has been held the third full weekend in September in Mankato, MN.

In 1976, the Mdewakanton Club, a nonprofit organization, was formed. Members of this organization include Native Americans and whites from the Mankato area and Dakota communities.

The 1972 pow-wow or Wacipi in Mankato was held in Key City Park, a baseball park. The Jr. Chamber of Commerce Wives and the YMCA Y's Men Association, under Jim Buckley, Director, sponsored this pow-wow.

Key supporters in the mid-1970s included the Zonta Club and the Chamber of Commerce. Between 1974 and 1979, the pow-wow was held in Sibley Park.

In 1980, the City of Mankato demonstrated its support by designating a park site named by the Dakota people as "Dakota Wokiksuye Makoce Park" (Land of Memories Park) for the Mahkato (meaning "earth blue" in Dakota) Wacipi.

This site is seen by the Dakota as an area where many ceremonies and gatherings took place prior to the 1862 U.S.-Dakota Conflict, which resulted in the execution of 38 Dakota warriors in Mankato, December 26, 1862.

The annual traditional Wacipi event is held to honor the 38 Dakota warriors who died in that execution, the largest mass execution in U.S. history.

Over the years, financial support for this event has come from business donations, Dakota and Mankato community donations, personal donations and pow-wow button sales.

The Mdewakanton Association promotes opportunities to educate the community about the Dakota history, heritage and contributions to this area. In the Association's early years, the Association arranged educational sessions with Dakota people for the Mankato area schools, Boy Scouts, churches, National Campfire and the YMCA.

In 1987, the 125th anniversary of the U.S.-Dakota Conflict, Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich issued a Proclamation for Reconciliation between Minnesota Dakota and non-Dakota people. Statewide, mutually created educational activities by Dakota and non-Dakota took place as a means of continuing the healing process between Dakota and non-Dakota Minnesotans.

In 1987, as an outgrowth of the reconciliation emphasis, a Dakota-Mankato communally-shared educational program involving all area third grade children was established. Between 1987 and 2000, over 10,000 children teachers, parents and Native American resource persons have participated in a unique direct cultural exchange education program held in conjunction with the annual Dakota Mahkato Mdewakanton pow-wow or Wacipi at Land of Memories (Wokiksuye Makoce) Park each September.

In 1989, an additional public educational opportunity was added to the Saturday/Sunday Wacipi activities in the form of a Learning Center Tent where Native American resource persons teach interested persons about their culture.

For many years, Mr. Amos Owen came to Mankato on December 26th to pay tribute to the 38 Dakota warriors executed in Mankato. In 1986, a memorial relay run between Ft. Snelling (Minneapolis) and Mankato was established.

The Mdewakanton Association assists in this annual honoring ceremony by serving as a liaison between the Mankato community and Dakota communities and as a host for the feast following the run and memorial ceremony at the Land of Memories Park.

Efforts by the Mdewakanton Association to bring about understanding have led to a climate leading to support of the Winter Warrior Statue and Reconciliation Parkette on the site of the execution and the naming of the Dakota Meadows Middle School by its students (check out Dakota Meadows "The Dakota Conflict of 1862" web site .

Mdewakanton Association meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Mankato State University Campus Burger King Meeting Room on Stadium Rd. in Mankato. Come join with others who support the Association's objectives. Consider becoming a member of this volunteer organization.

To learn more about this organization and it's activities, you are invited to come to a meeting or write for further information. Inquiries may be sent to:

Mdewakanton Association
P.O. Box 3608,
Mankato, MN. 56002.

SOURCE:

FURTHER READING:

For a detailed history of the U.S.-Dakota history in this area, read:
"History of the Santee Sioux" - 2nd ed. (1993), R.W. Meyers, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE. Dakota Conflict of 1862
Setting the Scene Excerpted from: "The US - Dakota Conflict of 1862 - A Self-Guided Tour," a pamphlet published by the

Mankato Area Chamber and Convention Bureau,
112 Riverfront Drive
PO Box 999
Mankato, MN 56002-0999
1-507-345-4519
1-800-657-4733
http://www.mankato.com/

Long before Europeans made their first forays into the territory now known as Minnesota, Native American tribes regularly crossed the Minnesota River at a fording place 14 miles north of the present city of Mankato, half a mile north of St. Peter. Early French explorers gave the site its present name, Traverse des Sioux (Cross Place of the Sioux People).

The solid river bottom through shallow water provided a natural gateway between the dense woodlands on the east and the prairies and bison of the west. As a well-traveled junction, it became a natural convergence point for commerce both for the Native Americans and for European traders and trappers.

By the 1820's, Louis Provencalle, a Frenchman working for John Jacob Astor's American Fur Co., had set up a permanent fur-trading post at Traverse Des Sioux. Soon a settlement sprang up around the post.

On July 23, 1851, one of the most significant Indian treaties in our nation's history was signed at Traverse Des Sioux between the US government and the Wahpeton and Sisseton bands of the Dakota. Two weeks later at Mendota, a treaty was signed with the Mdewakanton and Wahpekute bands. These treaties were instrumental in opening the American west to European settlement.

Some 24 million acres in Minnesota were ceded by the Dakota in exchange for reservation lands and for $3,075,000 to be paid over a 50-year period in annual annuities of goods and money -- about 12 cents an acre for some of the finest agricultural land in the country.

Before ratifying the Treaty the US Senate added amendments that weakened the Dakota position. Even with the changes, the terms of the treaty were not entirely honored by the US

The treaties left about 7,000 Dakota with two reservations, each 20 miles wide and 70 miles long, with a 10 mile strip on each side of the Minnesota River. In 1858 the strip of land along the north side of the river, nearly a million acres, was also ceded to the US The government established two administrative centers, the Upper and Lower Sioux agencies.

Delayed and skipped payments drove the Dakota to increasing desperation with each passing year. Through deceptive business practices, unscrupulous traders and government agents took much of what the Indians did have. Poverty, starvation, and general suffering led to unrest that in 1862 culminated in the U.S.-Dakota Conflict, which launched a series of Indian wars on the northern plains that did not end until the battle of Wounded Knee in 1890.

Colonel Henry H. Sibley commanded the military. A well-known fur trader, Sibley was the Minnesota Territory's first delegate to Congress and the state's first governor.

With most of the able-bodied men away fighting the Civil War, the Indians seized their opportunity and very nearly succeeded. After first advising of the futility of challenging the white man ("Kill one, two, ten and ten times ten will come to kill you," he said), Mdewakanton Chief Little Crow was persuaded to head the Dakota effort.

Before the Conflict (or Sioux Uprising, as it is often called) could be brought under control, at least 450 white settlers and soldiers were killed and considerable property was destroyed in southern Minnesota. There were uncounted numbers of Dakota casualties because of the Indian custom of removing all dead and dying warriors from the battlefield.

A five-man military commission was appointed to try the Dakota who participated in the outbreak. The commission settled up to 40 cases in a single day. Some were heard in as little as five minutes. In all, the commission tried 392, sentenced 307 to death and gave 16 prison terms. Many historians today feel the trial was a travesty of justice.

Authority for the final order of execution was passed to President Lincoln. He was pressured by politicians, military leaders, the press and public for immediate execution of the 303 still on the condemned list. Interceding on behalf of the Dakota was Episcopalian Bishop Henry Whipple, known to the Indians as "Straight Tongue" for his fair dealings. The Rev. Stephen Riggs and Dr. John P. Williamson, Presbyterian missionaries to the Dakota, wrote letters to the press calling for a fair trial.

Lincoln approved death sentences for only 39 of the 303 prisoners. One of the 39 was later reprieved.

At 10 a.m. on December 26, 1862, in Mankato, the group of 38 ascended a specially-erected timber gallows 24 feet square and 20 feet high. More than 1,400 soldiers of the 6th, 9th and 10th Minnesota Volunteers and of the First Minnesota Mounted Rangers were on hand to keep order among the crowds of hostile citizens. The Indians sang as they left their prison and continued singing until the end. It was the largest mass execution in American history.

Here are several excellent web sites about the Dakota Conflict.

Dakota Meadows Middle School - Dakota Conflict of 1862: CyberFair Contestant Page
In 1862, when most of America was consumed by the Civil War, fighting broke out between the Dakota and white settlers in Minnesota. At the end of six weeks, hundreds of settlers were dead, and the war against the Dakota had just begun. Thousands of Dakota were in prison or in exile. On December 26, 1862, in the largest mass execution ever in the United States, 38 Dakota were hanged in Mankato. This is the story of that uprising. It is also the story of reconciliation, of forgiveness, and of healing.
http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/schools/Dakota/conflict/history.htm

Minnesota State University's E-Museum -The Dakota Conflict Indian - settler relations in the Minnesota territory had never been good. One of the earliest French explorers, Father Louis Hennepin, was taken prisoner by the Dakota in 1683. Hennepin was released and went on to write about his explorations. While his captivity is a very minor incident, it represented the suspicion and misunderstanding that would plague Indian - settler relations in Minnesota into the twentieth century. http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/history/mnstatehistory/thedakotaconflict.html

Following the Path of the Dakota Conflict of 1862 - An AskERIC Lesson Plan
This lesson plan will cover approximately one month in which students will be learning about the geography and history of the Dakota Conflict of 1862. Many students living in Minnesota never realize the historical importance of the state, let alone the vital role the state played in developing the frontier of the United States. The Dakota Conflict of 1862 marked the beginning of several wars between the native Americans and the European settlers. This occurred in our backyard of the Minnesota River Valley. By locating and mapping historically significant sites along the Minnesota River, the students will understand the importance of the Dakota Conflict of 1862.
http://ericir.syr.edu/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/History/HIS0015.html

The Dakota (Sioux) War - A Closer Look at the Conflict by Dawud Rasheed
About the times: During the time of the Dakota War and before, the Civil War had already began. Many whites were gone to fight in the war. Since the Sioux had been disgusted with their situation for some time they saw fit to attack the white man when he was at his weakest fighting other whites. It is interesting and perhaps ironic that at the same time African-Americans struggled for freedom, Native Americans faced a very similar conflict. In this case the Dakota choose to battle for their land and freedom at the same time African-Americans are about to gain emancipation.
http://www.duke.edu/~dar5/Dakota/

The Dakota Conflict Trials by Douglas Linder
A framed photograph of the scene depicted on this home page, the execution of thirty-eight Sioux on December 26, 1862, used to fascinate me when, as a boy in Mankato, Minnesota, I would visit the Blue Earth County Historical Museum. Apart from its macabre appeal, the picture impressed me because it captured the most famous event in the history of my hometown (easily surpassing in significance the death there of an obscure Vice President who died while changing trains on his way to the Black Hills). The hanging, following trials which condemned over three hundred participants in the 1862 Dakota Conflict, stands as the largest mass execution in American history. Only the unpopular intervention of President Lincoln saved 265 other Dakota and mixed-bloods from the fate met by the less fortunate thirty-eight. The mass hanging was the concluding scene in the opening chapter of a story of American-Sioux conflict that would not end until the Seventh Calvary completed its massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on December 29, 1890.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Dakota/dakota.html

Mankato Area History Here are several excellent web sites about local history.

City of Mankato - Visitor Information - Synopsis of Mankato History
Mankato was originally called Mahkato, meaning greenish blue earth to Mankato's first inhabitants, the Dakota Indians. These native Mankatoans prefer the name Dakota meaning friend to the name Sioux meaning snake like enemy given to them by their rivals, the Ojibwe. An early spelling error was never corrected and Mahkato became Mankato.
http://www.ci.mankato.mn.us/history.php3

Minnesota State University's E-Museum - Welcome to Mankato, Minnesota!
Where is Mankato? Located in Southern Minnesota, Mankato is the urban center for Southern Minnesota and contains excellent schools and health care services as well as a bustling business district. It is located in Blue Earth County where the Minnesota River bends northward and joins with the Blue Earth River. It's sister city, North Mankato, is just across the river in Nicollet County.
http://emuseum.mankato.msus.edu/history/oldmankato/index.shtml

Welcome to North Mankato
Welcome to the home page for the City of North Mankato, Minnesota. Thank you for visiting! On this page, you can learn about the City and its various departments and services. (click on history)
http://www.city.north-mankato.mn.us/

Blue Earth County History
Blue Earth County is located in the heart of southern Minnesota, on the western edge of an area once known as the “Big Woods.” Important features of the county are its many rivers, streams, and lakes. These natural highways were heavily traveled by the Indians who lived in the region for hundreds of years and left their cultural imprint.
http://www.co.blue-earth.mn.us/about/history.php3

Minnesota State University's E-Museum - Welcome to Minnesota Prehistory
The following site presents differing aspects and features of Minnesota Prehistory. Click on the image at left to learn about: Minnesota Archaeology - An overview of the development of Minnesota Archeology and the Archaeologists. Taxonomy - A look at the phases, dating, and periods of Minnesota Prehistory. Sites- A selection of Sites from the different phases in Minnesota Prehistory. Technology - A look at the different technologies of Prehistoric Minnesotan's.
http://emuseum.mankato.msus.edu/prehistory/minnesota/index.shtml

Southern Minnesota Prehistory by Michael Scullin
A Little Theory - Although archaeologists have a multitude of names for the prehistoric cultures of Minnesota there were some broad patterns which describe the 10,000 years we know as prehistory. The archaeological record, by no means complete, can provide reasonably accurate accounts of what the people who lived here ate and what types of tools they used. Beyond that we can only make educated guesses (hypotheses) about their lives.
http://emuseum.mankato.msus.edu/offices/scullin/S.%20MN%20Prehistory%20980219.html