Focus Day: Native Americans

In Minnesota, the legacy of the American Indian people is reflected in many ways. Today, more than 54,000 Indians currently live in Minnesota. We will seek to expand our understanding of aspects of our shared history while also focusing on central concerns and positive developments for Indians living in urban areas today.

A Modern Spirit
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Presidents’ Hall

Speaker: Dr. Kristin Makholm, Executive Director of the Minnesota Museum of American Art

Many of us know of the esteemed Ojibwa artist, George Morrison (1919-2000). This lecture will introduce us to the life and work of this distinguished Minnesota artist who inspired people through his uniquely contemporary response to what it meant to be a Native American artist in the 20th century. The lecture is in conjunction with a traveling retrospective, Modern Spirit: The Art of George Morrison, organized by Dr. Makholm and currently showing at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. -Elaine Kirk

Our American Indian Neighbors
10:45-11:45 a.m.
Presidents’ Hall

Speaker: Bill W. Ziegler, Jr., President and CEO, Little Earth United Tribes

Minneapolis is home to a greater number of American Indians than many other cities. How are the Native Americans, traditionally a rural people, adapting to city life? Ziegler, a member of the lower Brule (South Dakota) Tribe, has had extensive experience both on the reservation and in Minneapolis and will discuss progress made by the urban American Indian in the areas of education, housing, health, and social welfare. -Barbara Eiger

Announcements
11:45 a.m. – Noon

Luncheon
11:00 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Luncheon Hostess: Beth McCabe and Jeri Strand
Guest Hostess: Karen Landro

The 1862 Dakota War: A Point of View – Past, Present, and Future
1:15-2:15 p.m.
Presidents’ Hall

Speaker: Syd Beane, Educator and Documentary Filmmaker of Dakota, French, and English Heritage

The 1862 Dakota War in Minnesota has been called one of the least understood periods in state history. This confrontation between the original Dakota inhabitants and non-natives has been characterized historically in the United States as the largest number of noncombatants killed before 9-11 and the largest mass hanging when 38 Dakota were hung at Mankato. This history will be presented from the perspective of the Dakota who were placed in a concentration camp at Fort Snelling following the war and then exiled from Minnesota. -Elaine Kirk