The littlest drummer participates in singing honor and blessing songs.. (Photos/Nancy Hanson.)
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
The White Earth Veterans and Honor Guard entered Moorhead’s American Legion Post 21 Monday to the heartbeat of an age-old Anishinabe drum. While singers Michael Gabbard and Tim Cottonwood intoned a traditional honor song, the men and women carried the flags of the United States, the White Earth Nation and other insignia and staffs.
They stood at attention in front of an assembly including area dignitaries and residents, proclaiming the pride of the Native American nations who called this land home long before the arrival of settlers and the railroad. Minnesota State University Moorhead associate provost Frank King Jr. greeted the crowd with the Anishinabe greeting “boozhoo,” going on to speak of how Native Americans were the last racial group to be accorded birthright status as American citizens, a milestone not acknowledged until 1924.
Jered Pigeon, MSUM’s director of equity and inclusion, intoned the land acknowledgment increasingly familiar among Moorhead institutions: “We acknowledge the people who have resided here for generations and recognize that the spirit of the Anishinabe, Dakota, Sisseton, Wahpeton and Yankton first nations and all Indigenous communities permeates this land. The contribution of the Indigenous people shall not be forgotten, nor will the success that is achieved by the people of the land. We will continue to educate, advocate, honor and unite for Indigenous people of this land.
The event was part of the city’s observance of Indigenous Peoples Day, officially recognized statewide in 2014 and by the Moorhead City Council in 2019. Other local highlights included a foraging walk led by Linda and Luke Black Elk at the MSUM Regional Science Center and a dinner and evening pow wow at Moorhead High School.
Back at the American Legion, Mayor Shelly Carlson spoke of her admiration for Moorhead’s willingness to learn and listen. “I feel Moorhead is a really special place. We strive to find the similarities and shared experiences that bring us together,” she said. “At the same time, we are intentional about celebrating and honoring our differences. I call it a tapestry.
“We celebrate the lives and spirits of those who lived on this land before us. Racial equality is a journey that we must travel every day.”
After the drum resumed with a blessing song and the honor guard adjourned, guests shared a feast inspired by local chef Tanya Tee Red Road in the spirit of the day – bison and wild rice chili. The free meal was prepared in the Legion kitchen by Judd Eskildsen and his Backyard Grilling Company.
