Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community

Causes: Arts & Culture, Civil Rights, Cultural & Ethnic Awareness, Ethnic & Immigrant Centers, Human Services, Immigration, Intergroup & Race Relations, Minority Rights, Race

Mission: An open letter to all peoples of good heart about our situation Many generations ago, elders of the Dakota Nation prophesized that after a period of loss and alienation their descendants would return to protect the sacred places for the benefit of all human kind and bring Dakota culture back to life in the area where the Dakota Nation was born.  This place is the b’dota (mistranslated by the French as Mendota), the joining together place, of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.  We are the Mendota Mdewakantan Dakota Community, and we are here today, fulfilling that prophesy as best we can in the place where our ancestors lived.  For the past 14 years we have been doing this by: Successfully fighting for the preservation of the sacred spring (Mnihdoka Wakan) known as Coldwater Springs (Go here, COLD WATER SPRINGS to learn more) saving our sacred burial place, Oheyawahe, (now called Pilot Knob Hill) and other burial mounds from suburban development working with the Minnesota State Park Service in order to hold ceremonies honoring our ancestors in the sacred b’dota area of Fort Snelling State Park that all are welcome to join bringing back together, through our pow wows and other activities, the scattered descendants of the b’dota Mdewakantan Dakota tribe who lived here for countless generations but were never granted official tribal status revitalizing the use of the Dakota language in its native land with the longest continuous Dakota language classes, 11 years and counting, in Minnesota, receiving spiritual training and support from elders in other Dakota tribes numerous presentations to elementary through college level schools and other organizations to help create understanding and support for our work within the non-native community, and applying to the Federal Government for full tribal recognition. We have fought these fights and done this work with a good heart and steadfast commitment for the past 14 years and we have plans to do much more. But now our sources of funding have dried up and we have come upon a hard time. WE HAVE THREE MONTHS BEFORE we RUN OUT OF FUNDS AND LOOSE OUR COMMUNITY CENTER in Mendota, the home of our ancestors!  We plan to be here for more than seven times seven generations, but at this moment we need your help!  Losing the community center we are currently renting would make it nearly impossible for us to continue on with our work as we have been. WE HAVE SPENT YEARS WORKING WITH SCANT RESOURCES CONTESTING AGAINST POWERFUL, WELL FINANCED FORCES WITH LITTLE UNDERSTANDING OR APPRECIATION FOR THE SACRED LANDS IN THE TWIN CITIES METROPOLITIAN AREA THAT WANTED TO DEMOLISH THEM FOR ECONOMIC GAIN.  WE HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THESE FIGHTS AND WANT TO CONTINUE AS AN EFFECTIVE VIGILANT DEFENDER OF THE SACRED LANDS OF OUR ANCESTORS.  We are in the process of applying for grants and establishing our long-term financial stability, but first we must look to our immediate need of staying in our Community center in Mendota. At this moment we need your FINANCIAL help TO KEEP GOING! HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP: You can become an Honorary Keeper of the Culture of our community which will help us to continue to fight for the things we have mentioned above and much more!  Here’s the link to our donations page, DONATIONS, where you will find a variety of levels you can choose from.  Whatever level you can afford to help us at will be deeply appreciated!  There is one more thing we need to ask of you.  Whether or not you are able to contribute anything to us right now, PLEASE take two or three minutes and send the link to this page, http://mendotadakota.com/mn to all your friends and ask them to do the same.  In this way our message will spread out, and through the power of the many we will meet our immediate critical need. PIDAMAYA,