Upcoming Events
- Screening of the documentary: Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code. Come see the film and join the post-film discussion. The film is being hosted by the United Methodist Church, and Bruce Ough, the UMC Bishop for Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota will attend. (March 16)
- Mde Maka Ska Community Conversation: Following the Sacred Current of Water (March 22)
- Minnesota Historical Society to hold public meeting on renaming and reinterpreting the Jeffers Petroglyphs. (March 25)
- Walker Film Series INDIgenesis: Indigenous Filmmakers, Past and Present. (Runs through March 25.)
- Screening of Dakota Creation Stories film. (March 26)
Details follow.
Thursday, March 16: Methodists Host Doctrine of Discovery Screening
Reminder: Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code will be shown at Centennial United Methodist Church in St. Anthony Park, 2200 W Hillside Ave. tomorrow, March 16. It is free and open to the public. There is an optional meal at 5:30 p.m., with the program starting at 6:30 p.m. Bishop Ough will attend. The Methodists, as a number of other Christian denominations, have passed a resolution repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery.
The film lays out the church’s influential role in mistreating native peoples around the world, a legacy that continues today. The Doctrine of Discovery refers to the religious and legal justification used by Europe’s colonial powers to claim lands occupied by indigenous peoples, seize their property and forcibly convert or enslave them. The Doctrine has its roots in 15th century papal edicts granting Spain and Portugal permission to seize foreign lands as long as no baptized Christians had a prior claim. The “Discovery Doctrine” was put into U.S. law through a series of 19th Century Supreme Court decisions. It still applies today.
Filmmaker Sheldon Wolfchild (Dakota) and other members of the local Native American community will join the post-film discussion about what this means for us today.
Click here for Doctrine of Discovery Flyer.
Wednesday, March 22: Mde Maka Community Conversations: Following the Sacred Current of Water
The next community conversations meeting around Mde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) will be Wednesday, March 22, 5:30-9 p.m. at First Universalist Church, 3400 Dupont Ave. S., Minneapolis. The meetings have been organized by the LaPointe family. They offer opportunities to meet new people, network, brainstorm ideas for reconnecting the area with its Dakota history, and develop new ideas, such as the proposal for the Decade of Water Summit.
Here is the announcement on the group’s Facebook page:
Join us as we allow the spirit of water to guide the flow of our dreams towards a more transformative way of life at the upcoming Mde Maka Ska Community Conversation. As water continues to connect us all, a new perspective emerges from its intimate depths generating an energizing era of creativity, innovation, and transformation. Come together collectively to follow the flow of life-giving water, to look upstream towards the future in new ways that reflect its endless nourishment of water.
Saturday, March 25: Community Meeting to Rename Jeffers Petroglyphs
The “Jeffers Petroglyphs” are a collection of ancient carvings made by Native American ancestors more than 7,000 years ago in what is now southwestern Minnesota. As old as they are, they bear the name “Jeffers” because of a recent immigrant family that once owned the land.
The Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) is working to give this site a more appropriate name and interpretation. This is part of a growing interest in recognizing the original inhabitants of this land, their contributions, and their original place names, such as restoring the Dakota name Bde Maka Ska to Lake Calhoun.
MNHS is hosting an event Saturday March 25, 1-4 p.m. near the Petroglyphs, 27160 County Road 2 in Comfrey. Let your voice be heard. (Comfrey is on the border of Brown and Cottonwood counties, about a 130 mile drive from Minneapolis.) According to MNHS:
We are committed to reinterpretation that showcases the importance of this special place. Our hope is that MNHS will better tell the story of the carvings and the people who made them. … All are welcome, this is a free event and food and beverages will be provided.
Questions? Contact Katherine E. Beane (Flandreau Santee Sioux) Program and Outreach Manager, Native American Initiatives for MNHS, 651-259-3391.
Walker Film Series: INDIgenesis: Indigenous Filmmakers, Past and Present
Reminder that the Walker’s Film Series on indigenous filmmakers is running through March 25. Here is the lineup.
Sunday, March 26: Creation Stories. Sheldon Wolfchild’s latest film documents elders telling Dakota creation stories. It will be shown at 3 p.m. at the East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul. Wolfchild and indigenous educator Jim Rock will lead a post-film discussion on these creation stories, star knowledge, and sacred sites and objects in the Saint Paul and Minneapolis area. The event is free but registration is required. For more information and to register, go to www.lowerphalencreek.org/events.
Click here for Creation Stories Flyer.
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