Staff Writer- Evangelyn Hill

Caden Riga

Last Tuesday, a group gathered in the Arboretum Interpretive Center to discuss the College’s indigenous relations work. As students, faculty, the College’s president, and Dakota community members sat on folding chairs in a circle, Dakota elder Wilfrid Keeble patiently let each participant waft sage smoke over themselves.

This was the mid-cycle Circle Gathering to assess the College’s progress with their “Storytelling and Sensemaking Symposium.” The group seeks to evaluate how the College can better work with indigenous communities, beyond a simple land acknowledgement. 

At Tuesday’s meeting, President John Volin explained how he sees the project. “As I am new to this project, my understanding is that it was never meant to be something we do about Dakota history or experiences, but something we do with the Dakota voices guiding the way,” Volin said. 

Gustavus Adolphus College wants to put a heavier emphasis on supporting the Dakota community. Scandinavian Studies chair and Director of Comparative Literature Ursula Lindqvist is deeply involved with the College’s indigenous relations work. At the meeting, she gave some examples of how the faculty in the academic division (ie. professors) of the Symposium are hoping to move forward. Including that they hoped to start having scholarships for Dakota students, add a land acknowledgement plaque outside of Old Main, and create more learning opportunities for students to engage with the indigenous community (like FTS classes). 

None of these changes have been made official, but the desire to do more is already there. Megan Ruble leads the division that involves staff in student life areas (the counseling center, for example). She said the staff and faculty in her division are also eager for improvements, such as updating the campus smoking policy to accommodate indigenous rituals.

The film Dakota 38+2, showed this past week, is also part of the College’s drive to improve their indigenous relations work. After the film, Gustavus’s elder-in-residence, Wilfrid Keeble, gave a question-and-answer session. 

Keeble has been involved in the Dakota 38+2 ride depicted in the film, and also works with Gustavus in their indigenous relations work. He is excited about how youth can support the work of reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous groups.

“A couple years back, [during] the Israel-Palestine conflict, in Saint Paul, there was a student protest on campus. The school board called the cops and had the camp taken down, and sent the kids home. Told the kids they were trespassing on school property, and to cease and desist. And the kids respond back, a couple weeks later, and they said isn’t that ironic, that the school board says we were trespassing on school property when in all reality, the school is trespassing on Dakota lands? I tell that to people and I say, the kids can understand it. Why is it so hard for the grown-ups to?” Keeble commented. 

This reliance on youth to further reconciliation is reflected in Gustavus’s own students. Piper Swanson is a Gustavus student who has been involved in past circle gathering events on campus. 

“The first cycle there [were] students from the St. Peter High School joining us and seeing them realize all the things that Native Americans went through and are still going through was so eye-opening to see that a lot of people are not educated on the Native Americans’ history,” Piper said.

However, Swanson and others in the symposium acknowledge that education is only part of the process; it needs to be accompanied by action. “Being able to hear all the things that the College is planning on doing for the Dakota people is so heartwarming, but I can’t wait till these things actually happen, as words are just noise until you put action on them. That is when they become important,” Swanson said.

Katie Boone is a local nonprofit leader, and is deeply involved in Gustavus’ work, as well as in supporting the new Makotah Reconciliation Horse Ride (the event that stemmed from the Dakota 38+2 Ride). 

“Reconciliation is a verb. It’s an action. It’s not a theory that you talk about conceptually. It’s actions that you take… it’s really small things, like can you host and feed people. Can you provide what’s needed to support the ceremony [horse ride]… At times like these, this deep work can seem heavy… but people are drawn to it… we need it. It’s unnatural not to be in community,” Boone commented.  

Gustavus is taking tangible actions to support that reconciliation. At the Tuesday Symposium circle meeting, President Volin announced that a new endowed fund has been established, specifically to support indigenous relations initiatives. The endowment has been established by an anonymous donor with a $50,000 contribution. 

“I’m so pleased about this because it’s an important sign about how seriously Gustavus takes this work and the intentionality with which we intend to move forward,” Volin said.  

Norma Witter, a campus safety officer, attended the Mid-Cycle Circle Gathering. This is her third Circle Gathering, and she said it has had an impact on her, allowing her to learn about Dakota ways as a Dakota woman. 

“I think [the circle meetings have] piqued the interest of more people… the first circle was not as many people… Dialogue is always really important, to keep communication open and ideas flowing,” Witter said.

Boone spoke to the importance of full community involvement – including students. She explained that nonindigenous people have been misinformed for years. 

“It’s not a challenge to anyone’s faith or belief systems… or political beliefs… What we’re talking about are simple facts… Whether you’re an auto mechanic or brain surgeon, every field has an impact with the people you interact with, how you raise your families, how you create a future. And collectively we have a lot of work to do to unlearn… and get curious about how we can build a future together,” Boone said.