Land Acknowledgement

by Cathy Roberts

You will be hearing in the next few months about an effort that came out of the Racial Equity ministry at Easter to form a land acknowledgment statement for our church. Our goal is to finalize the acknowledgment statement by March, and we hope it becomes a living document, with current outreach and educational efforts updated as we move forward.

What is a land acknowledgment statement? It’s a statement that we are on Indigenous land, Dakota land in the case of Easter, that we recognize the injustices of the past and present and that we pledge to build relationships with the tribes around us.

But it also goes beyond a statement. From the This is Indian Country website: “Land acknowledgments are more than just explanations, name-checking the tribes and Native nations whose lands we now occupy. These statements help demonstrate respect for and awareness of the enduring relationship between Indigenous people and place. They also serve to educate others on Indigenous stories, issues, and histories that are often overlooked.”  This is the approach the working group took as we started working on the land acknowledgment statement this fall.

In August, a group from Easter took a tour of Dakota sacred sites through the Minnesota Council of Churches led by Pastor Jim Bear Jacobs and the Rev. Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy. We learned Easter is within minutes of some of the most important historic sites for the Dakota people. At Fort Snelling State Park, which also is the site of a concentration camp after the 1860s Dakota war, is the nexus of the Dakota creation story as well. Called Bdote Mni Sota, it is the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. Just across from Fort Snelling is Pilot Knob, an important burial site and also, depending on the year, the center of Black Dog Village, which includes parts of Burnsville and Eagan, including Easter’s sites. The key takeaway from this tour was not only a better understanding of how injustices of the past affect the Dakota tribal members today, but just how much the Dakota way of life is connected to the land.

In September and October, we read “The Soul of the Indian” by Charles Eastman and had great discussions led by retired pastor and chaplain Jerry Friest. We learned how Dakota spirituality, while unique to each individual and very personal, was grounded in the same principles across the tribe. Those principles are not that much different than Christian values. As often is the case, we have more in common than we know.

Jerry Friest, Lynda Czarnetzki, Dana Collins, Heather Oleson, Bill Korte and me (Cathy Roberts) started meeting to learn more and to form the land acknowledgment statement and identify ways that Easter can either initiate or deepen relationships with Indigenous communities. 

We aren’t waiting until our land acknowledgment process is complete to start taking action. Led by Dana, we held a coat drive in November in connection with Native American Heritage Month, something we hope will continue this year. Over 150 coats and over 1,000 pairs of socks were delivered to the White Earth Reservation communities.

Heather reached out to the city of Eagan and found out some environmental activities surrounding Thomas Lake that we could participate in as a church as well.

In fact, the church’s work had begun before this group started meeting. The staff met in October to deepen their understanding of Native communities, as Pastor Jay shared in an October blog post. Pastor Jen mentioned the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving prayer in her Thanksgiving Eve sermon. Some of the children’s books distributed to church school families this fall also tell Indigenous stories.

In the future, we hope to do even more, including a celebration when the land acknowledgement is in place. We'd like to thank the support our group has already received from the church and look forward to your feedback.

A quote from Lilla Watson, Aboriginal author, “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time.  But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let’s work together.”

And here is our Land Acknowledgment statement:

This is a draft statement inviting comments and feedback to Lynda Czarnetzki. Additionally, there will be forums highlighting U.S./Dakota Land Cession Treaties in February or March.

Reverend Jerry Friest hosts an information session on Feb 12 at Easter on the Hill after worship in the Sanctuary.