The dozens of Dakota riders, many of whom traveled hundreds of miles from Nebraska and South Dakota reservations, were greeted by a large crowd in downtown Mankato’s Reconciliation Park last week.
A lot of people who helped start the effort and who have passed on would have been heartened by the sight of the riders, who were almost all in their teens or 20s.
That list would include Dakota spiritual leader Amos Owen and Mankato residents Bud Lawrence and Jim Buckley, the three of whom created the annual powwow in Mankato, which spawned the ongoing reconciliation effort and ties in with the horse ride that started in 2005 after a dream by Lakota spiritual leader Jim Miller.
Getting young Native Americans involved in the two prayer rides — each taking separate routes but joining up in Mankato — was the goal of elders after they ended the previous ride that had taken place for 17 years, as many of the riders have retired from riding or passed away.
While the new rides have different names and mostly different riders from the past, the goals remain the same — to honor the 38 Dakota hanged in Mankato in 1862 and to allow the riders and those involved in other ways to focus on reconnecting to their culture and spirituality.
Two elders who spoke at Reconciliation Park talked of the often heartbreaking conditions Indians face today. Drug and alcohol abuse is rampant and suicide is at epidemic levels.
“We go to a lot of funerals,” a speaker said.
He also noted how connecting with horses is a powerful tool for those in recovery from addictions.
“Horses are medicine. Our grandparents knew that after they first encountered horses.”
The speakers also talked much about the ongoing reconciliation efforts. It’s something we non-Natives should probably be talking about more often.
One speaker said it’s very hard to forgive people knowing what was taken from Indians, how they’ve been mistreated over the past couple centuries, and how all that harmful history continues to devastate tribes.
I’m not sure reconciliation is well understood.
It’s about healing and restoring positive relationships between Native American people and white people.
Getting to that goal requires a lot of intentional work by whites.
We need to truly acknowledge the historical injustices inflicted on Native Americans, make public apologies of past wrongdoings, and work to make policy changes addressing systemic inequalities.
We all have a long way to go, but the fact that area residents and the Dakota have made the strides we have is only because of Lawrence, Owen and Buckley.
Lawrence long operated the Hardee’s restaurant that was next to West High School. He was a Norwegian but with dark eyes and skin that led many to mistake him for having Native American blood.
Lawrence was a gentle, kind man, the type of guy who would talk to anyone and truly be interested in them.
He met Owen by chance in 1958 when Lawrence was fishing with his family near Owen’s home at Prairie Island near Red Wing.
I had a chance to meet Owen over the years and found him thoughtful, kind and sensitive, much like Lawrence.
The two men’s friendship grew over the years and when Owen was elected tribal chairman of the Prairie Island community in 1965, Lawrence honored him by walking from Mankato to Red Wing with others from Mankato, including Buckley, then director of the YMCA.
It was on that long walk that the idea of a powwow arose and the three men organized the first one in 1972, holding it at Franklin Rogers Park. That small beginning grew to the large powwow now held at Land of Memories Park.
And it was the beginning of reconciliation, which has grown over the years to include the annual horse ride.
Amos, Bud and Jim would be smiling watching the kids continue the tradition of the ride and reconciliation efforts.
Tim Krohn can be contacted at tkrohn@mankatofreepress.com or 507-720-1300.
