In this post:
- Water is Sacred Gathering at the Mississippi Headwaters, June 3-5
- Golden Valley Native American Community Celebration, June 4
- June 6 Webinar: Indigenous leaders in Canada share their experiences meeting with Pope Francis
- Treaty People Walk along Superior’s South Shore, June 11-25
- Shell River Revival: Three weekends this summer, June – August
Water is Sacred Gathering in Itasca State Park, June 3-5
Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light again is hosting a Water is Sacred Gathering at Itasca State Park at the sacred Mississippi Headwaters, June 3-5.
People of faith and conscience will honor the life-giving waters, affirm Native and Indigenous sovereignty, and nurture our connections with one another and the earth. Come away invigorated in our shared work of fighting for a world where treaties are honored and we’re free of fossil fuels.
Golden Valley Church hosting Native American Community Celebration June 4
Valley Community Presbyterian Church, 3100 Lilac Drive North in Golden Valley, is inviting the public to a free, family-friendly day of celebration and education about Native American heritage.
The celebration will feature Native food, drumming, dancing, and storytelling. The Speaking Out Collective will provide arts activities. Free snacks and blueberry tea provided. Wild rice wraps are available with a $5 suggested donation (cash or check). Or bring a picnic lunch from home!
The event also celebrates an oral history project focused on the Ȟaȟa Wakpadaŋ (Bassett Creek) watershed. Ȟaȟa Wakpadaŋ is the Dakota-language name for Bassett Creek. It translates to “Falls Creek,” a reference to the creek’s confluence with the Mississippi River just above St. Anthony Falls (called Owamniyomni in Dakota).
In December, the church received a Legacy Amendment grant to interview Native American people in the Ȟaȟa Wakpadaŋ watershed. Dr. Kasey Keeler, a scholar of suburban American Indian history conducted the research, and will present at the event.
Dr. Keeler is an enrolled tribal citizen of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians and a direct descendant of the Citizen Band of Potawatomi. She grew up in the City of Coon Rapids and most recently lived in Crystal; she is now an assistant professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.
“This project is increasing public awareness of American Indian history across the western suburbs of the Twin Cities,” Dr. Keeler said in a statement. “It’s helping to make visible today’s dynamic and growing suburban Indian community.”
Indigenous People and the Church: Walking Together Toward Healing and Reconciliation, a June 6 webinar
On Monday, June 6, from 6-8 p.m., you are invited to participate in a special two-hour webinar/conversation where Indigenous and Catholic Church leaders will share their experiences meeting Pope Francis while at the Vatican, March 28th-April 1st.
This event is sponsored by the Catholic Native Boarding School Accountability and Healing Project (AHP) in collaboration with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Participants are: Three members of Canada’s Indigenous Delegation: Joanna Landry (First Nations), Gary Gagnon (Métis), and William Angalik (Inuit), along with Archbishop Donald Bolen of Regina, Saskatchewan. Maka Black Elk, Executive Director for Truth and Healing at Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, SD will facilitate the conversation.
Treaty People Walk along Superior’s South Shore, June 11-25
After walking over 250 miles from the Mississippi headwaters to the Minnesota State Capitol and 160 miles along the route of the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline last year, the Treaty People Walk will continue its migration June 11. Participants will walk in prayer 100 more miles near the southern shore of Gitchi’Gami and near the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline route. They will focus on connecting Line 3 to 5, humans to humans, and spirits to nature. They’ll stop at Red Cliff and join the June 25 Communities United by Water event in Ashland at the end of the walk.
- Information on the event here
- Register to participate in some or all of the walk here
- To support the walk financially, click here
- For more on the June 24-26 Communities United by the Water event in Ashland, Wisc., click here
Shell River Revival: Three weekends this summer, June – August
Honor the Earth and community members from many walks of life are forming the Shell River Alliance to protect Minnesota’s Shell River watershed through education, advocacy, land trust/conservation work and building of community. They are hosting a Shell River Revival, inviting friends, allies, and water protectors to join them for three weekends this summer — June 17-19, July 15-17, Aug 26-28 — at the Shell City Campground.
Organizers ill serve food and provide an opportunity to share updates on the work to protect the Shell River and make plans to work together. Click here to learn more and sign up.
The new Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline crossed the Shell River five times. Shell River was one of the places of Line 3 resistance.
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