DAKOTA OYATE
Dakota Elders Announcement
On Tuesday 7:00 PM May 30, 2017 all Dakota traditional
spiritual elders are invited to
meet to discuss how to respond to the “Scaffold” sculpture that is currently under construction
by Walker Art Center on Minneapolis Park and Recreation Land in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
meet to discuss how to respond to the “Scaffold” sculpture that is currently under construction
by Walker Art Center on Minneapolis Park and Recreation Land in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The intent of the Elder meeting is to share the information about the
structure, to hear a
timely written update from the Walker Art Center, and to make decisions about the
priorities for next steps for the structure, specifically:
1) Elders’ wishes regarding the structure
2) who will be in the working group to plan a ceremony
3) how to involve the Dakota community including the youth as well as Native artists
in this historic event, and future discussions of the important role that art plays in truth-telling
4) which twelve Elders are available/willing to attend the first face to face meeting
with the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the Minneapolis
administrator and the artist, Sam Durant, on Wednesday May 31.
timely written update from the Walker Art Center, and to make decisions about the
priorities for next steps for the structure, specifically:
1) Elders’ wishes regarding the structure
2) who will be in the working group to plan a ceremony
3) how to involve the Dakota community including the youth as well as Native artists
in this historic event, and future discussions of the important role that art plays in truth-telling
4) which twelve Elders are available/willing to attend the first face to face meeting
with the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the Minneapolis
administrator and the artist, Sam Durant, on Wednesday May 31.
All Dakota are encouraged and invited to respond with their insights in this process.
This is an opportunity for parents to engage the children in learning about their history and
for the students and professions to use their position to help share our truth, our history.
Because of the quick timing of this first meeting and the fact that many Dakota cannot travel
to this meeting, you may send/share your response to an Elder who will carry that intention
forward in prayer to the meeting,
This Elder meeting will be open to all Dakota elders on Tuesday May 30th 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at
All My Relations Gallery, 1414 Franklin Ave Minneapolis Minnesota. We welcome all
Dakota who come with a good heart, with respect for the ancestors, the elders, our traditional
ways and our Sacred sites for the opening prayer and announcements. No press please.
This is only the first of many meetings to help create a process of healing and to help educate through
Dakota truth-telling of our own history.
The next step will be the face-to-face meeting of Dakota spiritual and traditional elders with
the related parties Wednesday morning 9:30 to 12:30 to discuss next steps, followed by a joint press
announcement at 2 PM of any logistic decisions made. Recognizing that the presence of the sculpture
is very volatile to our community, that timeliness and participation by all related parties is very
important, the focus of this part of the mediation process will be discussing the logistics. Broader
education for the staff and public will come later. The Walker Art Center and Park Board have agreed
to push back the Grand Opening of the sculpture garden until Saturday June 10 to allow for more
attention to this process and for good faith efforts at dialogue by all parties.
We call upon all Dakota to pray for wisdom and for healing. We request that all press wait for the
joint announcement on Wednesday after our private mediation meeting rather than seeking individual
statements from our community. We ask all non-Dakota allies to not take action on our behalf;
please respectfully allow us space to conduct our process in our way and timing, that we may heal.
Pidamayayedo
