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CLAY JENKINSON: The Future In Context — What The Repudiation Of The Doctrine Of Discovery Means For Indian Country

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On March 30, 2023, Pope Francis renounced the 550-year-old Doctrine of Discovery, which granted European nations the right to claim the new lands they discovered on behalf of Christendom. According to the statement issued by the Vatican, the Catholic Church formally “repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal …

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CLAY JENKINSON: The Future In Context — An Essential Detour To Wounded Knee, South Dakota

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My young adult daughter and I were driving from Bismarck to a village in far western Kansas on Dec. 30, a distance of 753 miles. It is a journey we have made together a dozen times over the years. We were in something of a hurry on this occasion. When we stopped for gas and sodas, I found in my …

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CLAY JENKINSON: Future In Context — From Wounded Knee To Pipeline Access, The Lakota’s Enduring Power

Posted on by Clay Jenkinson

Most histories of the “Indian Wars” in the American West end with the Wounded Knee Massacre on Dec. 29, 1890, when U.S. troops of the Seventh Cavalry killed between 200 and 300 Lakota (Sioux) people, the majority of them women and children, most of whom had been disarmed, at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, just one year into its …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — A Short, Sweet, Norwegian Celebration

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

Three groups have been cheering the appointment of Debra Haaland as President Biden’s Secretary of Interior. WOMEN. Although 21st century presidents have done better, over the years, probably only about 10 percent of all Cabinet secretaries have been women — I think I read somewhere the total is about 30 since we became a country — so when a woman gets …

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PAM COSTAIN: Walking As A Form Of Prayer

Posted on by Pam Costain

For several days in early August, I was part of a nibiwalk, a water walk led by Indigenous women. On Aug. 1, we dipped a copper pail into the headwaters of the Red River at Breckenridge/Wahpeton — on the North Dakota/Minnesota border — at the confluence of the Ottertail and Bois de Sioux rivers. We covered it with a red cloth, blessed …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Election 2018: Racists 1, Potheads 0

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

A couple final (?) thoughts on the Nov. 6 election in North Dakota. * * * * * Did racism play a role in the 2018 North Dakota election? As I’ve said repeatedly over the past few months, North Dakota Democrats needed to focus ALL their messaging opportunities on two topics: Trump’s trade wars and Republicans trying to take away health …

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DANIEL HAGLUND: Just The Facts, Man — Native Son In Blood, Not In Deed

Posted on by Daniel Haglund

Chief Amatoya Kanagaota Moytoy was a powerful 17th century Cherokee leader, born and died in what is now Tennessee. In translation, he was referred to as “emperor.” Moytoy married Quatsy of Tellico, a full-blooded Cherokee of the Holy Clan. She was also referred to as Nancy in other records. It is a common tome of myriad Native nations that the …

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DAVE VORLAND: It Occurs To Me — Wacipi

Posted on by Dave Vorland

Dorette Kerian and I spent several wonderful hours Saturday attending a “Wacipi” sponsored by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community a short drive from our place in Bloomington, Minn. A Wacipi, or powwow, meaning “they dance” in the Dakota language, is a marvelous event to watch. I’ve been a spectator over the years at many smaller scale Wacipis at the University …

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PAM COSTAIN: You Wooed Me Back, You Broke My Heart, I Still Love You, North Dakota

Posted on by Pam Costain

After a 40-year hiatus, the stark beauty of North Dakota captured my heart and drew me home. I was awestruck by the vast ineffable horizons, the wheat and sunflowers undulating in the wind and the other-worldly color of the Badlands and buttes. Returning to my roots, I remembered why I loved the landscape, the land itself and the powerful Missouri …

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DAVE VORLAND: It Occurs To Me — Little Crow

Posted on by Dave Vorland

One of my favorite places is the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Dorette and I are frequent visitors. She’s out of town, so I drove to the MIA on Saturday and wandered around for a couple of hours. It’s truly a world class institution. Photography is allowed, not the case in many museums. Among the works of art I’m most drawn …

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TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — Now’s The Time To Speak Without Fear

Posted on by Tom Davies

Many don’t have the desire nor the time to keep up with to the national news on the life and times of the associates of Donald J. Trump. If you’re not interested, that’s fine … but if you are, you can read the entire federal complaint against Paul J. Manafort Jr., and Richard W. Gates III at https://www.justice.gov/file/1007271/download. I have …

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TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — Replace Columbus Day With Indigenous Peoples Day

Posted on by Tom Davies

As children, most of us learned about Christopher Columbus discovering America, and the celebration continues today. The truth, however, was not shown in our history books when I was a child, and I don’t know if is being taught today. For those of you who were as uninformed as I was, here’s a little historical truth. Columbus Day was invented …

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CLAY JENKINSON: The Fallacies of the Dakota Access Pipeline ‘Argument’

Posted on by Clay Jenkinson

There is a dreary predictability about the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy, especially in the words that come out of people unsympathetic to the protest. I’m listing those I hear most often: 1. There are lots of non-Indians down there. They have no business here. They discredit (here’s the special kicker in this argument) “what otherwise would have been a perfectly legitimate …

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CLAY JENKINSON: The Lakota Protest — Head and Heart

Posted on by Clay Jenkinson

This is just going to be a personal meditation, and I apologize to anyone who would rather have more analytics and argumentation. When I was still a teenager, my best friend gave me a copy of “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown. I read it hard and fast, cover to cover, and it changed my life. It’s basically …

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Tony J Bender: That’s Life — Protesters Force Bulldozers Off Sacred Site

Posted on by Tony J Bender

The following is a report on the events that are unfolding south of Mandan, N.D., near the boundary of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The story is by Tony Bender and his son, Dylan, and appeared today in the Ashley (N.D.) Tribune and Wishek (N.D.) Star. The accompanying video was shot by Dylan, who is a student at Bismarck State College. An …

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CLAY JENKINSON: Standing Rock — A Plea To Keep This Pure — And Non-Violent

Posted on by Clay Jenkinson

In the southern heart of North Dakota, we may be witnessing the beginning of a national and international pan-Indian renewal of First Peoples, Indigenous Peoples, Native Americans. Anything that helps rebuild Indian pride, cultural confidence and a firm and solid assertion of Native American rights is a good thing for all of us, for all Americans. It is past time …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — May YOU Live In Interesting Times

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

Today I am 69. It is a meaningless birthday, in a world and time when numbers that don’t end in zero or five are of little consequence. But it is significant in that I am still here. Males in my family don’t generally live this long. I kind of wish I had planned a little better. But I am grateful to still …

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CLAY JENKINSON: Standing Rock — A Time to Listen, Not to Spout

Posted on by Clay Jenkinson

Events of historic importance are slowly unfolding south of Mandan, N.D., near the boundary of another nation state, the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The Dakota Access Pipeline protest has grown into something much larger and more important for the future of white-Indian relations. It is no longer just about the pipeline. We may be witnessing the beginning of a continent-wide …

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TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — Tribal Leaders Deserve Our State’s And Leaders’ Respect

Posted on by Tom Davies

After following news coverage of the developing story at Standing Rock, I am saddened by North Dakota’s official response to the legitimate issues raised by the Native protestors north of the reservation. What North Dakota’s governor, lieutenant governor and Public Service Commission don’t seem to understand is that the Native Americans who are protesting are, in fact, American patriots. Their …

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