The Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota PowWow is this weekend in Mendota, Minnesota

Since this is the only native group in the Twin Cities Metro Area, I hope everyone goes to their powow. It's on the grounds of St. Peter's Church in Mendota Heights, the oldest church in the state of Minnesota, on the side of the hill called Pilot Knob.

Pilot Knob, also known as LaButte des Morts, or The Knoll of the Dead, is across the Minnesota River from Fort Snelling. It's been a burial ground, sacred site, and council ground for the Mdewakanton Dakota for centuries. The Dakota called it O He Ya Wa He, a hill much visited. The 1851 Treaty of Mendota with the Mdewakanton Dakota was made there.

The 1851 Treaty of Mendota, along with the government's refusal to honor the terms of that treaty, led to the 1962 Sioux Uprising and the subsequent roundup and internment in the nation's first concentration camp of all Minnesota Dakota people at Fort Snelling, and the nation's largest mass execution in the simultaneous hangings of 38 Dakota men at Mankato, Minnesota on December 26, 1862.

The 1851 Treaty of Mendota remains one of the only treaties with the native inhabitants of America to be directly abrogated and annulled by the Congress of the United States:



Mendota and Pilot Knob are two of the most historic, sacred, and meaningful pieces of land in the state. For the native Dakota to be having a powwow there is quite significant.

d00d!




:bounce:

:hi:

I've missed you!!!

:patriot:

:applause:

:woohoo:

... you know, the usual stuff.

:hi:

I moved back to NYC and was thinking of attending a PowWow later this month on Long Island. I'd love to hear someone tell me what happens at PowWows and how welcome a non-tribe member would be.
Also, what tribes attend your local PowWow?

edited to correct typo

the neighborhood around my college was one of the largest concentrations of urban Native Americans in the country, so occasionally the school would rent out part of its grounds for pow wows.

Most of the people in attendance were either Ojibwe or Lakota, because those are the principal tribes here.

The pow wows I saw had a lot of social and competitive dancing.

I didn't think it was my place to join in the social dancing, so I just watched and made the rounds of the food and craft booths.

I've been to several powwows, actually. My experience is that it's like a large gathering of people where some people are selling stuff in stands and some people are mingling. There is a lot of drumming and dancing, and there are multiple competitions for various types of dancing and costumes.

I've always felt very welcome at every powwow I've attended.

The powwow is sponsored by the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota. They are not yet a recognized band, but Minnesota does have two other recognized bands of Dakota.

I live near there so I'm going to check it out!