In the footsteps of Little Crow: a conversation with Curt Brown, Kate Parry and Iyekiyapiwin Darlene St. Clair

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (08/23/2012) —A recent six-part series on the 150th anniversary of the U.S-Dakota War of 1862 that appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune is the subject of a conversation, hosted by the University of Minnesota, on Thursday, August 30.

The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in room 125 of the Nolte Center for Continuing Education, located at 315 Pillsbury Drive SE on the East Bank of the U of M Twin Cities campus.

Iyekiyapiwin Darlene St. Clair, a visiting associate professor with the U of M’s Department of American Indian Studies, will join the author of the series, Curt Brown and Star Tribune assistant managing editor Kate Parry for this educational discussion.

The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 and the 150 years since have left a lasting impact on the state of Minnesota, its non-Native citizens and the Dakota people.

For St. Clair, this series allows Minnesotans an opportunity to consider the war through Brown’s study of Taoyateduta—Little Crow.

“A fuller understanding of this war is important because it served as a catalyst for the creation of the state we live in today, a homeland from which so many Dakota were forcibly exiled,” St. Clair said. “Some obsess over the horrific events that occurred during six weeks in 1862, but there’s little effort put into understanding the context for the war, prior to 1862, and the impact the war had from 1863 through 2012.”

This conversation is also a chance to find out how Brown’s year-long study for this series has shaped his thoughts on the war and it’s impacts, said St. Clair, who is a member of the Lower Sioux Indian Community and teaches a class on Dakota culture and history.

For interviews with St. Clair, please contact Steve Henneberry, University News Service, henneberry@umn.edu or 612-624-1690.

This event is sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Advanced Study and School of Journalism and Mass Communication, along with the Minnesota Journalism Center.

Parking is available at the Fourth Street ramp and in the Church Street garage.