Minnesota was more than 80 years away from statehood when the United States declared independence in 1776, and Indigenous history reaches back far before either existed. Dakota tribal nations long lived with the land before western settlement and gave names to rivers, lakes and sacred sites, reflecting cultural ties that are still woven into Minnesota’s landscape today.
On a warm, sunny day, Spirit Lake Nation citizen Neil Cantemaza McKay speaks to an intergenerational group of learners at a Dakota language camp in Bloomington.
The camp is held at the historic Pond Dakota Mission Park, located along the bluffs of the Minnesota River, a place of cultural significance for many Dakota people…