This semester I’m taking a class called American Indians In Minnesota. My professor, an Ojibwe man, has briefly mentioned Fort Snelling here in St. Paul. This is of extreme interest to me because my Mother used to work there, in addition to The Minnesota Historical Society. This was so long ago that I hardly remember anything about it. I used to go to Fort Snelling with her every summer, dressing up and pretending to be the people of the mid 1800’s to tourist and school groups. We also did this at Split Rock Lighthouse….but that’s another story. What I find to be most interesting about this is that I never once heard the term “concentration camp” or “genocide” used, which is exactly what Ft Snelling was. Even talking about it to my Mother now, she refuses to use those terms. The Minnesota Historical Society has several artifacts from the Ojibwe and Dakota people that were stolen from graves and are now displayed to make a profit. What’s most upsetting about this is that the history is not properly reflected because MSH dose not feel “comfortable” using terms such as genocide. I look forward to researching and learning more about this, because right now I feel really uneducated about it, and I don’t think we plan to cover that history very in depth in class. Although it’s a reflection of several similar events in our history, this hits pretty close to home. If you have any interest in what I’m talking about, check out this news video debate Fox 9 did about a year ago.
“Groups are calling for Fort Snelling to be torn down because of its role as a jail for members of the Dakota tribe back in the 1860’s. Some describe Fort Snelling as an internment camp for Dakota families, who were forced to confinement after revolting against the settlers moving into the area.
Leader of the protest, who goes by the name Waz, and a representative from the Minnesota Historical Society talk about what really happened and the importance of Fort Snelling.”
Shiiiiiiit. I knew nothing about that. I used to go there all the time.
