1 day Ago By By Michael Lagerquist [email protected]
MANKATO — After being subjected to a soggy late spring/early summer, Land of Memories Park should be fully operational for the upcoming 52nd annual Mankato Wacipi Friday through Sunday, according to organizers. “Our camp spots that are for RVs, that’s been taken, but any place else where you can pitch a tent, that’s the next spot,” said Daniel Zielske, powwow committee chair. They’re highly utilized by performers, vendors and families.
Mankato parks crews have been busy meeting the goal of having the park operational for the wacipi, said Joe Grabianowski, Mankato public works operations superintendent. A test of the pipes by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency came back with good results, so all pieces are ready for the event. Electricity to the powwow grounds and campsites is good and the bathrooms, which were affected by high waters, are in good shape.
The powwow grounds were not affected by high waters or silt carried down the river, he said. That mostly affected the disc golf course. The campgrounds are not open for general use.
Presented by the Mahkato Mdewakanton Association, the annual event provides a bridge in Indian-white relations, with a threefold focus: • To create positive interaction between Mdewakanton Dakota and non-Dakota people. • To learn and promote an understanding of the Mdewakanton Dakota culture. • To contribute to a broader understanding of Mdewakanton Dakota people and their contributions to this community’s development.
The event grew out of a friendship between Amos Owen, a Dakota elder, pipe maker and spiritual adviser, and Bud Lawrence, a Mankato non-Dakota businessman. From this friendship came the first powwow in Mankato since the 1800s, put on at the YMCA in 1965. Since 1972, it has been a traditional wacipi held on the third full weekend of September.
Zielske is in his 32nd year on the powwow committee, and during that time, he has seen many changes. “The first 38-40 years of the powwow, we were geared as a memorial powwow to remember the 38 (Dakota hanged in Mankato on Dec. 26, 1862), and then later on, it was to remember the 38 plus two,” he said.
“But since then, we’ve adopted education as our new key element.” Zielske said that Owen thought getting to 38 years would be a milestone, so reaching 40 years meant looking again at and adjusting the mission of the event. “We needed new direction.
Education had become a big part of the powwow toward the end of the memorial services, so that’s kind of why we kept up with,” he said. The hope is to educate those who attend in the Native American traditions and to what those people have been through. That is done through interactions and displays like the grand entries.
Perhaps the most visibly engaging pieces of the event, the grand entries, are at 7 p.m. Friday, 1 and 7 p.
m. Saturday, and 1 p.m.
Sunday. It was while visiting the Mankato Wacipi that Australian artist Guido Van Helten gained inspiration for the mural on the Ardent Mills silos in downtown Mankato. Located near Reconciliation Park, the site of the hangings, it is an optional visit for those attending.
In the grand entry, all dancers enter the arena behind the flag bearers. Flags represent various tribes and families in attendance, as well as the U.S.
flag, service flags and the POW flag. An eagle staff, consisting of 38 eagle feathers, was made by Glynn Crooks (Dakota) in 1979, with each feather representing one of the Dakota executed in Mankato. At one point, Mankato Area Public Schools third-graders attended Education Day at the wacipi.
Now, Friday is the day for sixth-graders to attend as part of their study of Minnesota history. Education Day was started by Bruce and Sheryl Dowlin. “We can teach about how politics and discussions used to be taken care of by the people,” Zielske said.
They do that by utilizing the seven council fire tents. Spiritual advisers retain the connection to Amos Owen, filled by Ray and Austin Owen. Emcees are Jerry Dearly, Galen Drapeau Jr.
and Bill Taylor. As they have for several years, the host drum will be provided by the Mazakute Singers of Santee, Nebraska..
