Today a long battle has come to a close and a new beginning has ensued.
For me, it was the courage that I have gained by studying about GOM and being raised by a full-blood Dakota grandmother. Indian Heights Park in Rochester was finally recognized as a sacred site of the Dakota peoples in a unanimous vote today by the Park Board of Rochester. It has been a long arduous road to travel these past two, nearly three years. In the critical last few months, I, through my studies and upbringing, was able to defend oral tradition and use historical data to show that Indian Heights Park was used by the Dakota people as late as the 1860s' through two presentations to the Park Board and Steering Committee. Also, through my studies and support I have received from my advisor, program director, thesis team members, and the Minnesota Dakota Hereditary Chief, and my "academic mother" I was able to write an op-ed piece that compared and contrasted oral tradition versus history of the dominant society as to how each viewed "burial sites." This op-ed piece stirred a lot of feelings, both good and bad, in Rochester. I received both praise and criticism. One man, a leader of a small local organization threatened me after I wrote the article because I did not share his views of a homogenous Native American culture and singled out the Dakota Nation.
To be sure, this much wanted outcome was NOT due to my efforts alone. The Friends of Indian Heights, a grassroots neighborhood organization helped GREATLY!! Though I did not always agree with their methodologies, namely they did not tenaciously go to the source (the Dakota people) and instead went to non-natives for their information, yet despite this faux pas Indian Heights Park will be recognized as a sacred site. Though we ethically disagreed at many junctures during this process, I am still desirous and free to join their ranks as someone who wants to preserve the park and restore it to its proper dignity. FOIH here I come.
I do believe my gram and GOM would be proud.
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