Urban Homeworks staff went on a Sacred Sites Tour led by Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs from the Mohican Tribe. We visited Pilot Knob Trail or Oheyawahi, Fort Snelling State Park, and Dakota Internment Camp following the Dakota-US War.
As we approach the end of the year and continue to work towards a more just and affordable housing space, our work calls us to learn about BIPOC communities and the root of their true meaning. Amid racial disparity, we wanted to take time and space to learn about historic sites within our state that hold a more profound truth than what lies above.
Our staff was eager to visit a sacred place for the Dakota people in Minnesota, the Oheyawahi or Pilot Knob trail, which is truly a place to reflect on the Many Stories of the indigenous people who for centuries used this space as a sacred gathering and burial ground. Oheyawahi or Pilot Knob is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and comprises public and private land.
Although a place of reverence, this landscape has been altered throughout history within the last few hundred years, yet its stories remain suspended in time. As we learned during our visit, We learned that for the native people, stories are not part of a chronological construct; stories live within the space of their origin. It was powerful to hear these stories on the very land that they took place.
Within our responsibility of fighting for racial equity, we must learn the truth of our history. Today we challenge you to invite your circles to embark on a Sacred Sites tour, whether a group of friends, your family, or your workplace.
As we reflect upon the neglected, we invite you to Take Action and continue to be bearers of the truths that have been ignored. It is within these actions that we can start to repair the damage some of those stories hold.
To schedule your tour, contact Jim Bear Jacobs at jimbear.jacobs@mnchurches.org.
You can also learn more about Sacred Sites tours at
http://www.mnchurches.org/what-we-do/healing-minnesota-stories.
