Legacy of Survival: Coming Home
Little Crow (Thaóyate Dúta)
The land we call Minnesota has been the homeland of our Dakota people for thousands of years. We have always occupied this area and called it home –with the exception of the past one hundred and fifty years following the U.S./Dakota conflict of 1862. At that time our ancestors fled, or were forcibly removed to reservations elsewhere, under the threat of violence for our decision to oppose injustice to our people.As our current political leaders and grassroots organizers work to amend federal policy – that still exists today – forbidding the return of the Dakota Oyate to our aboriginal homeland, we invite the Dakota Oyate and the public to join us on a symbolic march back into Minnesota to show that despite all that happened we remain and will come home.
The Legacy event will highlight what is best in the Dakota people. It will showcase our vibrant culture, our rich history, and our dynamic language that has persisted despite the effects of removal, boarding schools, relocation, and termination. It will feature storytelling, demonstrations of our rich tangible and intangible culture, music, and create a foundation for a social revival that links together the bands of the Dakota Oyate from across the region and those relatives from across the border in Canada too.
As Dakota people we understand that we are strong when we stand together…that the only way we can truly come home is to join together into the Great Sioux Nation that we are all part of.
The Legacy event will highlight what is best in the Dakota people. It will showcase our vibrant culture, our rich history, and our dynamic language that has persisted despite the effects of removal, boarding schools, relocation, and termination. It will feature storytelling, demonstrations of our rich tangible and intangible culture, music, and create a foundation for a social revival that links together the bands of the Dakota Oyate from across the region and those relatives from across the border in Canada too.
As Dakota people we understand that we are strong when we stand together…that the only way we can truly come home is to join together into the Great Sioux Nation that we are all part of.