Celebration, somber protest at Capitol

After years of preparation, Minnesota kicked off its 150th birthday celebration week Sunday, the actual anniversary of Minnesota's statehood. There was no cake and it was too windy to light 150 candles anyway, but the citizens who came out to remember Minnesota's past and ponder its future were treated to a wagon train, remarks by several politicians and, on a more solemn note, a protest.

About 75 American Indians and supporters gathered on sacred ground at Indian Mounds Park on Sunday morning for a march to the Capitol, holding banners with phrases such as "take down the Fort"-- a reference to Fort Snelling, which they said played a key role in abuses of Minnesota's native tribes. Others wore black masks and carried scaffolding with 38 nooses in remembrance of the 38 Dakota men executed in Mankato by order of President Abraham Lincoln, on Dec. 26, 1862.

"We tried to encourage [sesquicentennial organizers] to use this year for truth-telling," said Gustavus Adolphus scholar Waziyatawin Angela Wilson. According to Wilson, Minnesota leaders "refused and wanted to continue with their birthday celebration and not let truth-telling get in the way."

On Saturday, the Dakota protesters briefly stalled the Sesquicentennial Wagon Train as it approached its camping area at Fort Snelling. Police removed several protesters from the path of the train, which left Cannon Falls seven days ago on a circuitous 101-mile trip to the Capitol. It arrived Sunday afternoon and this time police kept the two groups separated.

In remarks at the launch of Statehood Week on Sunday afternoon, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, as well as U.S. Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar and other officials, acknowledged the Dakota people. Pawlenty reminded the crowd that he declared May American Indian Month in Minnesota.

"We're committed to telling all the stories of Minnesota as a state -- both the failures and tragedies as well as the successes," said Sesquicentennial Commission executive director Jane Leonard in response to the Dakota concerns. She said the story of Minnesota "is kind of the story of America in a way, with Native Americans being pushed out with westward migration."

The politicians also spoke to the state's character and future.

"Minnesotans are often asked 'Well, why do we live here?'" said Pawlenty, suggesting that there was "a special Minnesota spirit in our state," that he defined as a love for the outdoors and a community that comes together to coach kids' sports, or to help in a crisis.

Klobuchar said "despite the cold, the snow and the windswept prairie -- despite all that, we've always believed that anything is possible ... that with hard work, education and good values we can make tomorrow better than today."

And in a nod to Pawlenty's potential role as a running mate for Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain, Klobuchar, a DFLer, also joked that Minnesota's a state where parents bounce their babies on their knees, telling them someday they could grow up to be vice president.

Sesquicentennial celebrations continue throughout the year; next weekend the Capitol grounds will feature music and exhibits, with fireworks on Sunday.

Kara McGuire • 612-673-7293