This is the official site for Winona State university's
Indigenous Learning Garden Initiative
Overview
The Indigenous Learning Garden Initiative is a campus community led project through Winona State University’s Office of Inclusion and Diversity that attempts to reframe the reproduction of the End of the Trail sculpture by James Earle Fraser featured in the courtyard of Winona State University. We ideally intend to unveil the project around the time of the 12th Annual Great Dakota Homecoming, the 154th anniversary of the Dakota 38+2, and Winona State University’s 2015-2016 theme centered on social diversity.
Staying true to the spirit that these events commemorate, the Indigenous Learning Garden will be a forum to build cultural understanding and function as an outdoor classroom. It will address the miseducation of United States’ society concerning the Indigenous Native American Peoples and will be a forum to host community and academic discussions about issues, history and current endeavors of Indigenous Native American Peoples. The landscaping will be codified with significant Indigenous Native American symbols and cultural knowledge. Also, we hope to honor the cultural wealth of Indigenous Native American Peoples by consulting with the eleven federally recognized tribes of Minnesota (including the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Lower Sioux Community, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, the Prairie Island Indian Community, the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Shakopee-Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community, the Upper Sioux Community Pejuhutazizi Oyate, and the White Earth Band of Ojibwe), the 8 federally recognized Dakota tribes of South Dakota (including the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, and the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe), the three federally recognized Dakota tribes of North Dakota (including the Three Affiliated Tribes, the Spirit Lake Tribe, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe), and the federally recognized Dakota tribe of Nebraska (including the Santee Sioux Nation). Also included is the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. We intend to incorporate the surrounding communities ideas to guide the direction of this project and Winona State University’s President and Community to see this project to completion. We also intend to invite these representative from these Tribes to join us at the opening ceremony once this initiative comes to fruition .
Staying true to the spirit that these events commemorate, the Indigenous Learning Garden will be a forum to build cultural understanding and function as an outdoor classroom. It will address the miseducation of United States’ society concerning the Indigenous Native American Peoples and will be a forum to host community and academic discussions about issues, history and current endeavors of Indigenous Native American Peoples. The landscaping will be codified with significant Indigenous Native American symbols and cultural knowledge. Also, we hope to honor the cultural wealth of Indigenous Native American Peoples by consulting with the eleven federally recognized tribes of Minnesota (including the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Lower Sioux Community, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, the Prairie Island Indian Community, the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Shakopee-Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community, the Upper Sioux Community Pejuhutazizi Oyate, and the White Earth Band of Ojibwe), the 8 federally recognized Dakota tribes of South Dakota (including the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, and the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe), the three federally recognized Dakota tribes of North Dakota (including the Three Affiliated Tribes, the Spirit Lake Tribe, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe), and the federally recognized Dakota tribe of Nebraska (including the Santee Sioux Nation). Also included is the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. We intend to incorporate the surrounding communities ideas to guide the direction of this project and Winona State University’s President and Community to see this project to completion. We also intend to invite these representative from these Tribes to join us at the opening ceremony once this initiative comes to fruition .
*The Indigenous Learning Garden Initiative logo was created by Hannah Sung