On the shores of the “Misi-ziibi” & “O-Wa-Mni” “Ha-Ha Tanka”
You will be welcomed near the Great, Sacred Mississippi River and its only Waterfalls to enjoy four August evenings of inspiring music, culture, history, film, nature, and the stars by artists, educators, and elders sharing their talents and legacies with those gathered as has happened at this location for centuries.
Indigenous Music & Movies in the Park SeriesÂ
Free Family Event
4 Tuesdays in August
Events begin at 4:30,- Music at 7:00 ”“ Movies at Dusk
Each Tuesday features Lisa Yankton as MC; Jim Rock, Dakota Astronomer and Educator ,2 minutes of ”˜Truth Telling”', and food grower Dream of Wild Health with farmer”'s market and menu available.
Each Tuesday features a variety of local and nationally known American Indian Music and Film Makers.
“This Series is an educational and intercultural exchange through public art from a grassroots platform to help shatter stereotypes of American Indians through music and culture. Also, commemorating the Dakota-US war of 1862 when 38 Dakota warriors were hanged, marking this as the USA”'s largest mass execution. Programming dedicated to our Dakota relatives and friends include Dakota Star Knowledge, music by Maza Kute and the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, Live “2 Minutes of Truth Telling” and a screening of the documentary film “Dakota 38”.
Performed on the banks of the Mississippi River and highlighting the St. Anthony Falls area which was and is sacred to the Dakota as “O-Wa-Mni” (whirlpool) or “Ha-Ha Tanka” (waterfall). Father Louis Hennepin renamed them in 1680 for honor of his patron saint, Anthony of Padua.
Father Hennepin Bluffs Park is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River at 420 Main St. SE. Bike racks available. Metro Transit bus line #6 comes within two blocks of the park. Parking is available at meters along Main Street and parking lots and city streets east of the park.
AUGUST 7th
Music: Quese IMC (Pawnee-wolfband/Seminole-bear clan).Â
Quese IMC national and international award winning Indigenous hip-hop artist who loves the art form of hip-hop expression and uses this instrument to bring forth awareness, consciousness, and change within people and communities, not by force but by invitation to build bridges within the people and aligning ones ideas and spirit so that true spiritual exchange can be moved about through the power of word, music, art and connection.
Movie: Good Meat – 57 minutes
On the Pine Ridge Reservation, 35-year-old Beau LeBeau is one of the greatest high school star athletes in South Dakota who would often be found running through the Badlands at Thunder Valley, but now he is having trouble even walking those same hills. Beau”'s many years of poor diet and lack of exercise have caused obesity at 333 pounds. In “Good Meat” Beau discovers that he has Type II Diabetes. This real-time film documents Beau”'s journey as he confronts his own health issues head-on by adopting a traditional Lakota diet centered on Indigenous foods such as buffalo, along with regular exercise. The film follows both Beau”'s struggles and triumphs as he works with Dr. Kevin Weiland and nutritionist Kibbe Conti (Oglala Lakota) to regain his health.
AUGUST 14thÂ
Music: Johnny Smith (Red Lake Ojibwe) and Friends.Â
Enjoy local legend Country, Western, and ”˜old time”' Rock and Roll singer/performer Johnny Smith”'s repertoire and renditions of oldies but goodies. Johnny Smith aka; “the Indian Elvis” has been crooning audiences all over this land forover 50 years who is a traditional Ojibwe singer and original founder of the Red Lake drum group.
Movie: On The Ice: (Rated R) 96 Minutes; Not recommended for children under age 17.Â
On the Ice is stark, unadorned, timeless and yet of the moment. A tale of living and dying on the edge of the world. The crime drama is sort of snowbound film noir. Shot entirely on location in Barrow, Alaska, On the Ice is the engrossing and suspenseful feature film debut by filmmaker Andrew Okpeaha MacLean (Inupiat) about two teenage boys who have grown up like brothers who go about their lives in the comfortable claustrophobia of an isolated Alaskan town. Qalli is the student with a future: He”'ll escape to college in the fall, his chance out of the dead-end world of Barrow. Aivaaq is his lifelong friend: his mother hopelessly alcoholic, his father long dead, himself on the road to alcoholism. Aivaaq”'s a carefree kid without a future. Early one morning, on a seal hunt with another teenager, an argument between the three boys quickly escalates into a tragic accident. Bonded by their dark secret, the two best friends are forced to create one fabrication after another in order to survive. The shocked boys stumble through guilt-fueled days, avoiding the suspicions of their community as they weave a web of deceit. With their future in the balance, the two boys are forced to explore the limits of friendship and honor. There”'s simplicity to MacLean”'s story-telling that is deceptive. The emotions are right out front in a community regularly confronted with the effects of alcoholism and meth use. The setting for this small-scale drama, hometown to director Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, is so unique and gorgeously shot you find yourself wishing it was a documentary.
AUGUST 21st
Music: Maza Kute drum (Santee Dakota) and The Mankato Symphony Orchestra.
The Maza Kute is a traditional singing group from the Santee Indian Reservation in Nebraska. Formed in 1979, the Maza Kute drum group has been singing for more than 30 years. This drum group has kept the music alive in the Santee community with the help of many great singers.
Mankato Symphony Orchestra was organized in 1950 to celebrate classical music, introducing children to the wonders of orchestral and choral music, to make such music accessible to all residents, and to contribute vital energy to regional economic development and cultural tourism. Together they will perform a rendition of “Paha Sapa Olowan” (song for the Black Hills) composed by Brent M. Davids (Mohican). They will then perform a version of Pow wow Symphony.
Movie: Dakota 38
In the spring of 2005, Jim Miller, a Native spiritual leader and Vietnam veteran, found himself in a dream riding on horseback across the great plains of South Dakota. Just before he awoke, he arrived at a riverbank in Minnesota and saw 38 of his Dakota ancestors hanged. At the time, Jim knew nothing of the largest mass execution in United States history, ordered by Abraham Lincoln on December 26, 1862. “When you have dreams, you know when they come from the creator… As any recovered alcoholic, I made believe that I didn”'t get it. I tried to put it out of my mind, yet it”'s one of those dreams that bother you night and day.” Now, four years later, embracing the message of the dream, Jim and a group of riders retrace the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback from Lower Brule, South Dakota to Mankato, Minnesota to arrive at the hanging site on the anniversary of the execution. “We can”'t blame the wasichus anymore. We”'re doing it to ourselves. We”'re selling drugs. We”'re killing our own people. That”'s what this ride is about, is healing.” This is the story of their journey- the blizzards they endure, the Native and Non-Native communities that house and feed them along the way, and the dark history they are beginning to wipe away. “DAKOTA 38” is Smooth Feather Production”'s first feature length documentary film and is expected to be available by spring of 2012.
AUGUST 28th
Bluedog ”“ (Dakota/Ponca/Lakota)Â
The Bluedog Band won the 2010 NAMMY (Native American Music Award) for Group of the Year, formed in 2001 by Joni and Eric Buffalohead. The band has performed across the United States and has fronted many notable blues acts.The Bluedog band is a six piece blues/rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Music: Leeann Goose ”“
Leanne Goose is Dene/Inuvialuit Singer Song-Writer. Her powerful voice & energy radiate through her full bodied performance style. Her diversity ranges from rich country-blues, soulful jazz to rock. The music is a reflection of the essence of the Canadian Western Arctic, the mountains, the MacKenzie River, the music of their home ~ Northern Soul.
