Days before Ramsey County and the city of St. Paul are set to unveil new, more inclusive artwork in historic meeting chambers, some members of the Dakota tribe say they felt left out of the process.
On Tuesday, two Minnesota lawmakers contacted the Ramsey County Board on behalf of members of the Dakota community who said they felt "invisible" and unheard.
"Members of the Dakota community felt they had been left out. They would have liked to have been part of the conversation," said Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein, DFL-New Brighton. "There are a number of elders and Dakota artists that would have liked to participate in the decisionmaking. We have a very active Dakota artist community."
Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville, said she's heard similar criticisms of the project.
Lawmakers said it's important for Dakota people to be part of the process because St. Paul and Ramsey County occupy what was once Dakota land.
Crystal Norcross, board chair of Oyate Hotanin, a St. Paul-based Indigenous arts and social justice nonprofit organization, said the process was not welcoming to Dakota artists. She said Dakota artists' initial concerns that their work would be used as a "Band-aid" to be displayed next to racist historic depictions were dismissed early on, resulting in many Dakota artists choosing not to participate.
"It wasn't inclusive. They didn't want to tell our stories," said Norcross, who lives in St. Paul and is a member of the Sisseton Wapheton Oyate, which is part of the Dakota tribe.
On Tuesday, Ramsey County commissioners said they take the criticism seriously but they ultimately voted unanimously to move ahead with the installation of the four new pieces of art completed by a diverse group of artists, including one northern Minnesota artist with Anishinaabe heritage.