Sage and chatter filled the morning air as people made tobacco offerings at Bde Maka Ska. The large turnout gathered on the shores of Thomas Beach in Minneapolis for a prayer and celebration ceremony at the dawn of Indigenous Peoples Day.
Organizers have held the ceremony since 2014, the year the Minneapolis City Council voted to observe Indigenous Peoples Day.
“One of our values as a people is our people, our loved ones, our community, our relatives, our neighbors — the fact that our existence is resistance,” said Christine McDonald, American Indian Community Specialist with the City of Minneapolis. McDonald, who is Anishinaabe and Hunkpapa, said she advocated for the sunrise ceremony when the city first adopted Indigenous Peoples Day.
“We are still here. All of the policies that were put in place by the government to try to erase us, and we're still here today. And so, every day that we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day — significant,” McDonald said.
Minnesota has recognized Indigenous Peoples Day as a state holiday since 2023.
Nicole Matthews, a White Earth Nation descendant, is CEO of the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition and serves on the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors. The directors group includes leaders from Native-led organizations serving the urban Native American community in the Twin Cities.
“Ceremony is really important to who we are and to the foundation of who we are. As you can see, community wants to start out in that good way,” Matthews said.
She also noted the three-alarm fire that affected tribal offices housed at the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe building on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis Sunday. She said she thought about the building and how she wanted to come together with intention, to be in community. Several Native organizations, tribal offices and nonprofits are located along the stretch of Franklin Avenue.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan read the state proclamation as the ceremony began. The document acknowledges that the name of the state is “derived from the Dakota phrase ‘Mni Sóta Maḳoce,’ which translates to ‘Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds.’”
Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis police and fire departments were also in attendance.
Events continue throughout Monday around the state.
Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the US state of Minnesota. With its three services, MPR News, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest.
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