By Mikanuk "Larry Adams" - On September 22 the 15th Annual Elders Community Picnic was held at the Minnehaha Park in South Minneapolis.  Over 300 elders attended the event that included raffles and prizes. An official proclamation honoring Norby Blake was also made. Blake was the former director of the Inter-Tribal Elders Services (ITES). She recieved the award from Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak.    
The Elders Community Picnic included several health-related booths, as well as some crafts stands. The event kicked off with an Elders "Wisdom Steps" Walk around Minnehaha Park, with many elders stretching their limbs during the walk. The "Johnny Smith and Friends" band performed some of their Country and Western repertoire for the elders as well.

A 20-foot-tall healing totem pole loaded on an open flat-bed truck received blessings from Indian tribes as it made its way from the West Coast to a permanent display near Washington, D.C.
The totem and two flanking benches, all carved from western red cedar, will be installed in an herb garden at the National Library of Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

I am pleased to announce that for the first time in six years, Minneapolis Public Schools has made progress in narrowing the achievement gap between students of color and white students. We could not have hoped for more encouraging state test results.
Significant across-the-board gains were made in reading for American Indian, African American, Asian and Hispanic students. The gap was also narrowed for all groups except American Indian students in math.
These results validate the hard work and focus of our staff members, community partners, volunteers and our families who make important contributions to student achievement every day. We still have significant gains to make, but this progress in the right direction motivates us to continue carrying out the work of our strategic plan.

ct. 3 thru Dec. 31
Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations
Experience a traveling exhibit, videos, and resources about treaties between Dakota and Ojibwe Nations and the U.S. to better understand the true circumstances surrounding this land, its use, and even the treatment of the land's indigenous peoples today. The Why Treaties Matter project helps establish American Indian sovereignty as an ongoing continental reality and provides a vehicle for all Minnesotans to learn new and innovative ways to create community. This is a partnership of the Minnesota Humanities Center, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and the National Museum of the American Indian. Learn, through a video presentation and 20 banners featuring text and images, how treaties affected the lands and lifeways of the indigenous peoples of this place, and why these binding agreements between nations still matter today. For more info, see: www.minnesotahumanities.org/treaties. This exhibit runs through 2012 throughout sites in Minnesota, but only 2011 dates are listed for now:
Oct 3-31: Becker County Historical Society, Detroit Lakes, MN.
Oct 23-Nov 23: Riverland Community College, Austin, MN.
Nov 3-17: Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN.
Nov 17-30: Beltrami County Government Center, Bemidji, MN.
Dec 3-31: Red Lake Nation, Red Lake, MN.

Me calling Rezberry clinics urgent care: "Help! I need my head examined!"(If only I had an Indian head nickel for how many times people have suggested I do so!)
After a full, fun summer I was ready to settle down into calm autumn and begin burrowing a comfortable rut to occupy. But alas, t'was not to be! I had scheduled my wisdom teeth surgery for September because I thought there would be plenty of time to heal.
Instead I got 'dry socket' where my wisdom teeth used to reside. And if you don't know what that is, you don't know pain. Unholy, excruciating, horrendous pain that mocked the medicine I was taking to abate it.
Then, to add insult to injury, a real injury. I slipped on ice that covered the ramp in the front of my house and hit the back of my head on the cement part, while wearing my new, old lady Minnetonka moccasins from Goodwill. For a week everything above my chins was hurting so much that I could not distinguish one pain from the other. So there went my plan to dismiss all drama in favor of monotony.