Just prior to the inauguration of President Obama I saw a young (twenty or thirty something) African American woman interviewed on PBS and she spoke of living in the "Post Racial" period in the US. Post Racial? I heard another interviewee allude to the election of Mr. Obama as "turning the page" on racism in this country. I guess I do not see it that way.
Racism, while perhaps more subtle than some years ago, is still prevalent in this country. If you doubt that, ask the Native American man who drove over the border in his late model van to asked by the officerwho the van belonged to. Ask the Ontario Anishinabe woman who was told by a Thunder Bay woman to "go back where you came from."
Institutionalized racism is entrenched in this country and, while the election of President Obama may signal a new era of hope in regards to race relations, it continues to demand anti-racist work from all of us.
As Minnesota planned the sesquicentennial celebration that took place last year, the Minnesota Historical Society received a request from a Dakota scholar and activist by the name of Waziyatawin, asking for a meeting with her and other Minnesota Dakota leaders to discuss truth telling in regards to the relationship between Dakota and Settler society during our state’s 150 year history. Their requests fell on deaf ears.
To add insult to injury, Henry Hastings Sibley, who figured prominently in the attempted ethnic cleansing following the US-Dakota War of 1862, was featured in the book MN 150, a list of the most prominent people, places and things from our first 150 years.
Present day Dakota people still are reminded daily by parks, schools, and county names of Alexander Ramsey—the Minnesota’s first governor who stated, "The Sioux Indians must be
exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the State." Post Racial? I think not. There is a group of people in Cook County who meet regularly to address the issue of institutionalized racism and who look for opportunities to do anti-racist work as a result of their experience in Undoing Racism workshops put on by the Peoples’ Institute for (218) 834-5733 P.O. Box 34 Survival and Beyond. Call me to learn more. Knife River, MN 55609
Bob Carter is a member of a group which meets monthly on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Chicago Bay Marketplace in Hovland. He and other group participants will periodically provide information on Undoing Racism in our Steven Ojard (218) 834-5733 community. To learn more, contact Bob at (218) P.O. Box 34 Knife River, MN 55609 387-2111or via e-mail at drydoc@boreal.org; or e-mail John Morrin at jmorrin@boreal.org or Bea Sorenson at bbsorens@boreal.org.
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