Exhibit Preview

Exhibit Preview Jaelissa Northrup (Fond du Lac), learning to rice. Photo by Sue Erickson, courtesy Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission www...
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Exhibit Preview

Jaelissa Northrup (Fond du Lac), learning to rice. Photo by Sue Erickson, courtesy Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission

www.treatiesmatter.org

“The history of Indian treaties is the history of all Minnesotans and all Americans. […] We cannot have a complete understanding of what it means to be Americans without knowing about these relationships, whether we are Native Americans or not. – Kevin Gover, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Courtesy of the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission.

Relationships Between Agencies In August 2010, a resolution creating a unique partnership of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. was approved unanimously by the tribes residing in Minnesota and made it possible for this exhibition to be developed as an educational tool for Minnesota audiences. This partnership led to the creation of an exhibit unique in its community-based approach. From its inception, the knowledge, insight, and perspective of tribal members have been the foundation upon which this exhibit was developed. From this foundation of community involvement has emerged a vehicle for authentic Dakota and Ojibwe voices upon which these communities tell their own stories of sovereignty, adaptability and sustainability.

Excerpt from the Resolution Be it Finally Resolved that the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council supports the work initiative by the Minnesota Humanities Center in the development of the partnership between the Minnesota Humanities Center, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and the first ever Minnesota American Indian Treaties project in the state of Minnesota. August 24, 2010 2

About the Exhibit Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations is a new traveling exhibition exploring the Native nations and their treaty making with the U.S. in the place once called Mnisota. This pamphlet will give you a preview of the exhibit which consists of 20 free standing banners with evocative text, historical and contemporary photographs and maps. See for yourself how this exhibit reveals how Dakota and Ojibwe treaties with the U.S. government affected the lands and lifeways of the Indigenous peoples of the place we now call Minnesota, and explains why these binding agreements between nations still matter today. This exhibit is meant to share important cultural, political, and economic information with all Minnesotans, that they may better understand the true circumstances surrounding Minnesota land, its use, and even the treatment of the land’s Indigenous peoples today.

Exhibit Banners 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations We Have Always Been Sovereign Nations A Deep Connection to Place The Native Origins of Sovereignty Treaty Making in America U. S.–American Indian Treaties in Minnesota (see page 4) How Treaties Changed Lands and Lifeways Ojibwe Rights Retained (see page 6) The Dakota React to Broken Treaties Dakota Diaspora (see page 10) Facing Dislocation Allotment: Dismantling Tribal Land Ownership Exploitation of Tribal Land Defending Treaty Rights in the 20th Century The Origins of Modern Tribal Government Why Treaties Matter Today: Tribal Government Respecting and Managing Natural Resources Sovereignty Through Economic Development (see page 12) Taking Care of the People Treaties as Living Documents (see page 14) 3

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U.S. – American Indian Treaties in Minnesota

Francis Davis Millet, The Signing of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, 1905. Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

Many people think that the United States gave land to the Indians, but the reverse is true. During conferences with U.S. treaty officials, Dakota and Ojibwe leaders agreed, often under pressure, to give up large portions of their homelands and retain small areas of land, called reservations, for the exclusive use of their people and descendants. In exchange, the United States promised to provide tribal nations with social, economic, and educational services, a responsibility that continues today. 5

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Ojibwe Rights Retained

Ojibwe woman with container of wild rice, 1940. Photo by Gordon R. Sommers, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

Ojibwe bands continue to hunt, fish, and gather wild rice as they have for centuries. These rights are recognized in the land cession treaties of 1837 and 1854. By signing these treaties, tribal leaders ensured that future generations would be able to access natural resources on former tribal lands. 7

DID YOU KNOW?

What is a treaty? Treaties are agreements between self-governing, or sovereign, nations. Native Nations existed long before the formation of the United States. European powers recognized the sovereign status of Native Nations when they made treaties with us, as did the United States. Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Kevin Leecy, Chairman, Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe and Chairman of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council I don’t understand why American Indians should have any rights that are different from anyone else. Do treaties give “special rights” to American Indians? Treaties, affirmed in courts, have not given, but retained for native people the right to hunt, fish, and gather as they have for hundreds of years. These rights are often called usufructuary rights, which is just a legal term for the right to use something. You can sell a piece of land, but retain the right to use the dock. You can have an easement put in place where two neighbors share the same driveway. This concept was written right into the treaties between native tribes and the U.S. government. Dr. Anton Treuer, Professor of Ojibwe, Bemidji State University What’s the benefit of learning about American Indian – U.S. treaties? The history of Indian treaties is the history of all Minnesotans and all Americans. Even now, states, Native Nations, and the federal government continue to engage on a government-togovernment basis every day, making in effect new treaties, building upon those made many years ago. We cannot have a complete understanding of what it means to be Americans without knowing about these relationships, whether we are Native Americans or not. Kevin Gover, Director, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian

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How are treaty rights being exercised today? For Native Americans, treaties stipulate the basis upon which their sovereignty rests. The right of their tribes to have their own governments is very much tied up in treaties that define their lands and their history of interactions with the United States government. Dr. Anton Treuer, Professor of Ojibwe, Bemidji State University Indians already got the land where the reservations are and all these other things occurred a long time ago - so why are you still talking about them? This is a misunderstanding. The Dakotas [and Ojibwe] were not given anything. I always try to explain it like this, what do you do when you want to save a room at a hotel? You make a reservation for it and it’s reserved for yourself. Well, the Dakota did that in the treaty-making process. They were able to reserve some portions of land for themselves, albeit probably not the best for their existence, but it was still reserved by the Dakotas for that purpose. It was never given. How could the United States government give something that they did not own to a people that was already giving up so much? Reservations weren’t given to Indian people. They were reserved by Indian peoples for themselves. Dallas Ross, Upper Sioux Community How many non-Native people lived in Minnesota in 1850 when the Dakota ceded 24 million acres to the U.S. government? 6,000 non-Native people lived in Minnesota in 1850 when the Dakota ceded 24 million acres to the U.S. government. Information courtesy of Allies: Research and Writing

Learn more at www.treatiesmatter.org

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Dakota Diaspora

Photo by John Phillips, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

In the 1870s, exiled Dakotas such as the Santee Dakota of Prairie Island, pictured above, began to drift back to their traditional homelands in Minnesota. Traveling in small groups, they quietly re-established small communities near Morton, Granite Falls, Prior Lake, and Prairie Island. Today, there are four federally recognized Dakota communities in Minnesota, including the Upper Sioux Community, the Lower Sioux Indian Community, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and the Prairie Island Indian Community.

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Sovereignty Through Economic Development

Data courtesy Minnesota Indian Gaming Association

The federal government passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988), which reaffirmed tribal rights to conduct gaming on Indian lands as a means of developing reservation economies and promoting the welfare of the tribe. Today, the 11 tribal governments in Minnesota operate 18 casinos, which have reduced tribal unemployment and generated revenues that support reservation business development, education, and social services. 13

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Treaties As Living Documents

Bois Forte Tribal Chair Kevin Leecy; District I Representative Cathy Chavers (partially hidden); Kristen Lilya, sixth-grader and student council president at the Nett Lake School; and tribal Secretary-Treasurer David Morrison at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Bois Forte government and community services center in Nett Lake, 2010. Photo by Jeff Henningsgaard, courtesy Bois Forte Band of Chippewa.

Treaties are living documents that recognize American Indian governments and guarantee the preservation of Native lands and lifeways for future generations. Today, more than 145 years after their treaties were signed, Indian tribes in Minnesota celebrate their treaties and their status as sovereign nations.

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2011-2012 Travel Itinerary Note that all sites are in the place we now call Minnesota. Itinerary updates on www.mnhum.org/treaties.

2011 August 3 – 31 White Earth Reservation, Ogema October 3 – 31 Becker County Historical Society, Detroit Lakes October 23 – November 23 Riverland Community College, Austin November 3 – 30 Shared Vision & Bemidji Area Race Relations Council, Bemidji

2012 January 2 – 31 Nicollet County Historical Society, St. Peter February 8 – March 7 Carver County Historical Society, Waconia March 1 – 31 Native American Community Development Institute, Minneapolis March 23 – April 22 School Dist. 196 Native American Parent Advisory Committee, Rosemount May 1 – 30 Historic Fort Snelling, St. Paul June 8 – July 7 Goodhue County Historical Society, Red Wing July 1 – 31 Minnesota Valley History Center & Dakota Wicohan, Morton July 16 – August 15 Mayo Clinic, Rochester August 23 – September 22 Ramsey County Historical Society, St. Paul October 1 – 31 Winona County Historical Society, Winona November 8 – December 15 Carlton County Historical Society, Cloquet, MN Additional Host Sites Dates to be Announced • Bois Forte Heritage and Cultural Museum, Tower • Fond du Lac Cultural Center and Museum, Cloquet • Leech Lake Tribal College, Cass Lake • Grand Portage Museum, Grand Portage • Red Lake Nation, Red Lake • State Capitol, St. Paul • Upper Sioux Community, Granite Falls

The project is funded in part with money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with a vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008, and The Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation.