Oct 11
Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration
In Fall 2021, Carleton will host “Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations.” The exhibit, made in partnership between the Minnesota Humanities Center, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, explores relationships between Dakota and Ojibwe Indian Nations and the U.S. government in this place we now call Minnesota. Through images, text, and video, learn how treaties affected the lands and lifeways of the indigenous peoples of this place, and why these binding agreements between nations still matter today.
Members of the Carleton community are working to supplement the exhibit with art, Carleton-specific information, and related programming. The exhibit will be in the Weitz Center for Creativity in the Hamline Creative Space.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Programming, Monday, October 11
We are honored to host members of the Prairie Island Indian Community at Carleton College. There will be a small, private ceremony between Prairie Island's President Buck and Carleton's President Byerly earlier in the afternoon.
- From 2:00-4:30 pm on Carleton's Bald Spot (the main green between the Chapel and the Library), Dakota Education professionals will set up a tipi and educational materials. Stop by! (rain location-Athenaeum)
- From 4:30-5:00 pm at the patio between Boliou and the CMC, there will be a talk focusing on local Indigenous history and archaeology (rain location: Severance Great Hall)
- From 5:00-6:00 pm at the patio between Boliou and the CMC, there will be a community dinner (first come, first served), featuring soup and fry bread (rain location: Severance Great Hall) prepared by Chef Phil White, with help from Carleton's Bon Appetit staff.
Why Treaties Matter at Carleton is the product of collaboration across the College. The exhibit and programming are co-sponsored by the Public Works Initiative, Arts@Carleton/the Office of Director of the Arts, the Humanities Center, the Perlman Learning and Teaching Center, the Perlman Teaching Museum, the Center for Community and Civic Engagement, and the Broom Fellowship for Public Scholarship. Special thanks to Professor Meredith McCoy and Professor Michael McNally for heading the efforts.
Land Acknowledgement
We stand on the homelands of the Wahpekute and Mdewakanton bands of the Dakota Nation. We honor with gratitude the people who’ve stewarded the land through the generations and their ongoing contributions to this region. We acknowledge the ongoing injustices that we have committed to the Dakota Nation, and we wish to interrupt this legacy, beginning with acts of healing and honest storytelling about this place. “Why Treaties Matter” is one way of seeking honest storytelling about the places we now call Carleton, Northfield, and Minnesota.