WINONA — The ninth annual Great Dakota Gathering and Homecoming in Winona this week spotlights the 150th anniversary of the Dakota War.
The gathering will focus on the long-term reconciliation between the Dakota people and the region’s residents. It will include cultural and educational activities such as a film screening, a traveling exhibit, Dakota language bingo, American Indian arts and crafts vendors, an Akicita (warriors/veterans) honoring ceremony, a hockey tournament, food and a moccasin tournament. Many of the activities will be in Unity Park.
Events begin Friday and continue through Sunday. Because of a $70,000 state grant, the event is able to run an additional day.
A traveling exhibit, "Commemorating Controversy: The Dakota-U.S. War of 1862," is on display in Kryzsko Commons at Winona State University through this evening. The exhibit explores the war’s causes, voices, events and long-lasting consequences. It was produced by Gustavus Adolphus College students in conjunction with the Nicollet County Historical Society.
The Dakota Education Exhibits & Demonstrations will consist of a learning tent, a Wahpekute educational encampment from the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate that will include a tipi erected at the White House in 2009, and drumming and singing demonstrations by the Dakota Omani Drum Group and its leader, Chief Frank Brown from Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation in Manitoba.
