Speaker 0 00:00:00 About to cop me a dumb clock. I'll see you later on. My haters a dumb clock. I'm a straight shooter. Budha too many dumb rocks ate me some rooster and the pistol was on. Cock ain't got nothing for me. Bars ain't free. That's why I'm texting. Get out my way. See bitching all the starters and he watching me play when I'm coming. Bars ain't free. He ain't Harry and Tubman the wax. But if you need some bars, it's gonna cost you stack more like three stack.
Speaker 1 00:00:31 And I'm
Speaker 0 00:00:32 Just that on my mama. I start slapping you with Stack. Ever been hit in the face with money?
Speaker 1 00:00:41 <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:00:52 The viewpoints expressed in this program are the opinions of the people expressing them and are not necessarily those of fresh air Incorporated its staff or its board of directors.
Speaker 4 00:01:13 You can burn a whole thing down. I don't care if y'all uncomfortable, we can burn a whole thing down. Couldn't care about a another zone. You can burn a whole thing down. Y'all don't really care about a brother till we burn all thing down.
Speaker 4 00:01:34 Yeah, we about to go to work. Yeah, we about to let it burn. Like send it Quill. Yeah, I bet you will. Trying to skip a they've been lynching nothing till and that's really freaking generous cuz honestly they have been killing us since we were property. No stopping me from saying how it is Whizz ain't no easing down the road where we live. The we can't go out for ag or a swim. A dog fall asleep in the car, fall asleep where we live. So we about to let it burn just like gusher say they trying Butler do not care what Gusher say. Put him back, screens up, make a few bucks. My life isn't market Daniel. Who you think you trying to play Mom? I like it better when like, nerdy was all fun and stuff. This is really angry. Like don't you think you said enough? Well that's freaking tough cause I'm being loud and the people are not playing with you now. Yeah, you can burn a whole thing down. Yes. Yeah. I don't care if you are uncomfortable. We can burn a whole thing down. You can burn a whole thing down. Couldn't care about another zone. You can burn a whole thing down down. Y'all don't really care about a brother until we burn our whole thing down. Burn down. Yeah. We about to go to work. Yeah, we about let it burn.
Speaker 5 00:02:47 No, come on the young. What I'm focused on. I'm so old then go then. I ain't know you was talking about Pokemon, but I'm more like me and nerdy next to a burndown system with a candle of gas and a handful of matches and know we ain't miss some famous. Now my mission be so watching all the leaders leading, making Nona minions, but we torture you enough to take us and we give into survivors city liars making black people compliant. Coon Rapids. Who are you asking? I'm proof the boom trick. Ethics got me laughing at your message. And in Black Lives Matter, you would not get so defensive. We got cops and deeds and robberies and gas light us. We are not the same. We on the scene we pass typing cuz y'all don't care about us and we ain't come to ask. We just mind up businessing and people be so stuck and mad. So pass the gun and mask and pass the athe. Nu Y'all can really kill us for anything. Y'all just bend the laws the same performance art, the same performative saving the racist head of rule. Norm. It is. You
Speaker 4 00:03:45 Can burn, burn the, the whole thing down. You can burn it all. I don't care if y'all uncomfortable, we can burn the whole thing down. You can burn it, burn it down. Couldn't care about it. You can burn a whole down down. Y'all don't really care about it, brother, until we burn whole thing down. Burn it down. Yeah, we about to go to work. Yeah, we to let it burn
Speaker 6 00:04:35 Views from the ground, views from the damn ground views from the ground views from the damn ground views from the ground views from the damn ground.
Speaker 7 00:04:43 And that's on that, on that on that. All right. This is dj, um, your favorite agender host. I use day dumb pronouns.
Speaker 8 00:04:52 My name is Brandon. I use he him pronouns.
Speaker 7 00:04:55 Yeah. So, so yeah, it's been, uh, uh, crazy last week. Um mm-hmm. <affirmative> with the whole, um, Tyre Nichols. Yeah. Um,
Speaker 8 00:05:08 Yeah, I mean, for those who don't know, I don't know if we talked about it on our last show a week ago now. So, uh, man, black man was brutally beat to death by five, or actually six police officers. Uh, where's that? Memphis, I believe
Speaker 7 00:05:22 Memphis, Tennessee.
Speaker 8 00:05:24 Um, and five black cops have since been fired and charged, um, for his murder. Um, however, there was a sixth officer who was white, um, who has since been disciplined. I don't think he's been fired or charged, but they said he is also been disciplined for his role. Uh, he was the one who, uh, originally tased him mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, uh, said something along the lines of, I hope they stomp him out, or I hope y'all stomp him out, or something like that. Um, interesting Again, how, like right when, uh, the five cops were fired and, uh, charged, it was only the black officers, not the white officer who we didn't learn their name until weeks later, days later, whatever. Um, yeah, I mean, it's an interesting situation. Everyone wants to talk about all, well, they are black police officers. How can that be white supremacy?
Speaker 8 00:06:18 How could that be racist at all? And, uh, you know, I think it just paints the picture of how deeply ingrained white supremacism is into the institution of policing. That there doesn't need to be whiteness in an area for the white supremacy to still, uh, exist and to still happen and to still kill black people, uh, to still kill black men. Um, so yeah, it, it doesn't, I saw a tweet the other day, um, where someone asked, explained to me how five black cops killing a black man is, uh, white supremacy and racism. And someone quoted that and said, if my black self makes a taco, does it stop being Mexican food <laugh>? And I think it's, uh, I think that's a pretty good analogy. Um, literally these situations seem to somehow only, uh, happen to black brown indigenous people. These situations seem to only happen to poor people. Um, and it, it's crazy how, um, and I don't wanna say only, but predominantly majority, uh, disproportionately affect black, brown and indigenous people, uh, because that's who these systems were created to oppress.
Speaker 7 00:07:30 Yeah. And it just shows what happens when you tried to villainize, you know, just these cops and individuals like all these, these single bad cops, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> took it upon themselves to do this thing. And it's like, no, like after George Floyd was murdered here, we didn't get any actual change to the system. So the system that allowed a white man to stand on this black man's neck for nine minutes in broad daylight and not care who watched, you know, that same system is what killed Tyre Nichols, you know, and allowing this mafia style execution to happen mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, and so, you know, and like you said, like they charged the, they, they fired the cops the next day and then they charged them before the video came out, which is unheard of. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, you know, the whole thing is giving Muhammad nor vibes, you know mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, with them charging and convicting him. And it's just like, it's just, it's just wild to, uh, to see, you know? And, and it just shows how much work we have to do with, um, you know, chipping away at this system, you know, and getting systemic change. It's not about, you know, getting more black officers or getting more officers of color. It's, it's, it's about like dismantling the system that is systematically oppressing black and indigenous and brown folks at a disproportionate rate. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>,
Speaker 8 00:08:54 You know? Yeah. And, and to emphasize what you just said, it's like everyone always talks about reform. Everyone always talks about reform. Everyone talks about reform, but I think this is like the clearest, uh, uh, depiction of like, reform will not cut it. Um, what they had officers of color, which people say we need more of those that'll help. That didn't do anything. Tyre Nichols is still dead. They need, uh, less than lethal, less than lethal weapons like tasers instead of guns. They use a taser. Tyre Nichols is still dead. They need, uh, you can't just have one cop show up to a, um, to a traffic stop because then if he's a bad cop, then the rest of the cops won't be there to stop the bad cop. How many cops were there? Five or six? That didn't help. Tyre Nichols is still dead. Um, we need to have body cams. Tyre Nichols is still dead. Um, so how many more reforms do we need? Do we need more cops? More body cams, only black. Like, none of those things save Tyree Nichols in this instance. Policing will not save us from being killed by the police. Um, abolition is the only way forward with that regard. That's the only way to stop being oppressed by these institutions, is to dismantle the institutions. Um, reforming it won't do anything but continue to kill us.
Speaker 7 00:10:04 E Exactly. And you know, locally, um, we've saw that, um, boys in Blue documentary that Showtime has made about the cops that are coaching football in North Minneapolis at the North high school, and, you know, um, and they were really pushing to like, you know, there's some good cops, but yeah, there's bad cops and we need to get 'em out in the solution is more black cops. And then in the same documentary, the black cops said, oh yeah, I would've shot a mi lock too in the same situation. I'm just like, y'all like mm-hmm.
Speaker 8 00:10:35 <affirmative>
Speaker 7 00:10:35 Just, just, just it, it does, you know, that's just not gonna help. Like it's the whole system. Uh, it is guilty as hell. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So with that being said, we're gonna move to, um, the words, uh, of freedom segment. So I'll I'll let you take it away, Brandon.
Speaker 8 00:10:53 Yeah. So, uh, we got a special Words of Freedom segment this month. Uh, it is Black History Month, say It not only is a black history month, but it is also my birth month. Um, so I figured if, if there was any month better, I don't know if there is one. So we're gonna do this month where we're gonna be playing some of my own poetry over the radio for you guys. Um, yeah, I mean, y'all know me good enough. If y'all don't, I don't know, you'll get to know me over time, <laugh>. Um, but yeah. So we're gonna listen to one of my pieces today. Uh, no better way to start Black History Month than honoring, uh, talking about um, uh, black women. So this is my piece titled to my black queens,
Speaker 9 00:11:45 To my black queens. There's no apology that's fit for you. No amount of sorrys I can give to you that'll write the wrongs that this world did to you. But you are looking for apologies. You demand equality and appreciation instead of appropriation and validation for your indignation. Black barbies and band-aids and makeup and dark shades do help to lessen the feeling of condemnation. But all the black capitalistic pandering in the world will never equal fair compensation. They need liberation more so than I do because of discrimination that they fight is that of a black man's times two. For every struggle that I face, black women after battle theirs at at least twice the rate. Because even movements for the benefits still find ways to discriminate for this racism and feminism, this patriarchy and misogyny and racial equality and transphobia in all of these, this colorism within our own community. But fair skin doesn't mean that they're treated fairly by our oppressor. Light-skinned, dark-skinned, even white-skinned if you're one eighth, is still only three fifths. So we must come together whenever there is any injustice. Black women are on the front lines. They march, they chant, they speak, they organize, go to any protests and see them come to life because they are the true definition of rod or die.
Speaker 3 00:13:12 But
Speaker 9 00:13:14 Just because they're willing to sacrifice doesn't mean that they should have to lose their lives. Rest in peace to Toya. My heart breaks for her every day. She was fighting so hard for a better future where black women won't have to deal with the exact things that took her life away. We must do better. Black women are underserved, unappreciated, fetishized, and marginalized will also being the most supportive, most creative and most loving people on this planet. That was nothing more beautiful than a black woman covered in her melanin with brown skin like cinnamon. The women made to stand out instead of fitting in on that skin. They smother she a cocoa butter, skin, smooth like peanut butter, so many different shades and colors. My curly headed queens from two C all the way to four C I know it's hard to see sometimes, but I foresee a better future for you all. One more. Our daughters don't need to spend hours with a flat iron am before class. And where they don't need relaxed to feel relaxed, where they know that their curls are not a curse, but a crown where they don't physically damage their hair to cope with their psychological damage. One way your hairstyle isn't something your manager is allowed to manage. Where box braids have no correlation with your professionalism, where you don't feel your application will be turned down because of the name that you were given. But more importantly,
Speaker 9 00:14:34 A future where childbirth is in a death sentence, where they can walk down the street without fear of being threatened.
Speaker 9 00:14:41 Because now black girls go missing and everybody's quiet because now they can lock up a black girl for organizing a peaceful protest and say she incited a riot free Tiana, because now they can kill a black woman in her sleep for no reason with no repercussions. Rest in peace. Brianna Black women aren't angry. But if I was a black woman, I would be for all this world has done. They should be. And yet they walk through this life with grace elegance, a smile on their face. So full of love, full of light when all they receive is hate. Black women are strong, but we can't forget that they are also delicate. As hard as they fight is as hard as they feel, as hard as they persevere is as hard as they struggle. Yet they continue to break down every barrier that is placed in their path. To my sisters, I presume you appreciate apologies, but I'm positive you prefer progress. So I promise you my best, I promise you my presence, you will always be protected and respected any less cannot be accepted. I will ride for you just like I know you will ride for me. It's not enough to just follow your lead, but it's too much as a man to make it about me. So will alongside you is where I'll be
Speaker 9 00:16:06 Because as long as black women are still subjected to this world's injustices, we must fight so we can all be free.
Speaker 7 00:16:20 Let me get some snaps, y'all.
Speaker 8 00:16:24 Uh, yeah, so that was a piece I put out, um, a couple years ago now. Um, we'll kind of be going through the archives. I don't know, I haven't thought, you know what, all I'm gonna release for you guys, uh, here, uh, probably stuff that's been out, but maybe stuff that hasn't been heard before or, um, maybe like stuff from even before the uprising and stuff like that. Who knows? Um, but we'll keep it, we'll keep it black, we'll keep it real, you know. We'll keep doing what we do. I
Speaker 7 00:16:50 Mean, how many poems can you have? You only have two published books on 'em, right? You know. Yeah.
Speaker 8 00:16:54 Know,
Speaker 7 00:16:55 Whatever, couple,
Speaker 8 00:16:56 A few, a few handfuls. Yeah. Um, but yeah, nah. So if y'all stay tuned in the rest of this month, we're gonna be listening to my work and, uh, yeah, I'm excited to share some with y'all. So thank you.
Speaker 7 00:17:07 Yes, thank you so much. Really appreciate you with that. Um, coming up next right here, we're actually gonna go, um, a straight into the nerdy spotlight. So take it away. Nerdy.
Speaker 4 00:17:20 Yo, what is up everybody? It's yo boy. Nerdy back again with the Artist's Spotlight. You already know what it is. Don't you touch that dial because it's February. That means we doing things extra blackish around here. And I am very excited to take this time to Center, to highlight, to spotlight another one of our amazing artists here from our own community. And this month we are rocking all month long with the incredible, the incomparable sj, the Afrocentric Ratchet. If you haven't heard of sj, the Afrocentric Ratchet before, and I feel like that'd be hard to do. If you're listening to Minnesota Music, you are about to be in for an amazing treat. This woman knows how to perform. She puts on a show. It is a spectacle and I love it. And you're gonna get just a little taste. It's a little morsel today as we drop in this song. It's called Golden.
Speaker 11 00:18:24 My honey's Golden. Hi
Speaker 12 00:18:26 Honey.
Speaker 11 00:18:28 My honey's holding there.
Speaker 12 00:18:29 Bye honey. Drive.
Speaker 11 00:18:31 My honey's a one.
Speaker 12 00:18:32 Yo, honey.
Speaker 11 00:18:34 Yo honey. Say so
Speaker 12 00:18:36 Honey.
Speaker 11 00:18:37 My honey told me
Speaker 10 00:18:39 Thank you for these baby.
Speaker 11 00:18:40 I told them. Say less.
Speaker 13 00:18:42 Get ready for seconds baby. Yo honey.
Speaker 11 00:18:44 Text
Speaker 13 00:18:44 Best when I send a message, baby. I ain't trying to set some lady. I just hope it's go crazy every since I got up and it's been on. Got. That's for trying to just, it. I guess that will make it fun. Like Kia one. I guess that make, I guess that make them a fool. Hit man out by the pool when I make it splash. Take liquid. Make it cash.
Speaker 11 00:19:16 My honeys golden. My honeys one. Yo honey. Say my honeys golden
Speaker 12 00:19:30 Honey.
Speaker 11 00:19:32 My honeys
Speaker 12 00:19:37 Really
Speaker 11 00:19:38 Good. Yo honey,
Speaker 13 00:19:41 My honey dripping and go rubbing on fo flexing and stepping on toes. He said he ready eat to go. I checked the pole like Megan, I'm a boat. He on, I'm on a roll. Treat these 10 like they os how could you even expose up in her bed? You can't even get a test access. That's your fact check sis. I don't even really gotta check that check. He would see yours from the last check. Check. I don't even really wanna keep yo, when you roll it up, holy smoke your switches If I throw it back, girl. I know he won't pass,
Speaker 11 00:20:06 Won't last. Honeys golden.
Speaker 12 00:20:16 Yo
Speaker 11 00:20:17 Honey, say so.
Speaker 12 00:20:18 Bye
Speaker 11 00:20:20 Honeys. Bye Honeys There. Bye. Honeys. Yo, I
Speaker 14 00:20:50 Wow.
Speaker 15 00:20:51 K F A I is proud to present Danielle Villareal at the seventh Street entry on Friday, February 3rd, Panama Born drummer Danielle Villareal is one of the busiest players on the Chicago scene and is known to many Fort his work in Do Santos Wild Bell and many more for his lead artist debut Panama 77 on the international anthem label. He engages a diverse array of friends and star collaborators to create a vibrant suite of multi textural, psychedelic, instrumental folk, folk, local art, electronic artist Dash opens. The show tickets for Danielle can be found at First Avenue website. Visit first avenue.com for more details. Have you noticed the vending machine selling lottery scratch games at the airport? As if getting to the airport, making it through security, finding the right gate and the weather not canceling your flight wasn't enough of a gamble. A K F A I Isn't risky at all. You know, you are always going to get the coolest mix of music because every program is personally crafted by the show's host. And you know that your
[email protected] will always go into keeping the station strong K F A I the community's true voice and we won't lose your luggage.
Speaker 16 00:22:32 Black History Month is a long awareness raising action that highlights the contributions of African Americans, black people, and Africans across the diaspora, including South and Central America and the world. Bobby Seale and Huey p Newton founded the Black Panther Party for Self-defense in Oakland, California on October, 1966 to monitor police activities and challenging police brutality in black communities. The Black Panthers had a variety of community social programs like Free Breakfast for Children and community health clinics. The Black Panther Party had a membership that reached a peak in 1970 with offices in 68 major cities and thousands of members until the party dissolved in 1982. K F A I has a strong tradition of celebrating blackness with special programming in the month of February and amplifying black voices of the African diaspora all year round.
Speaker 7 00:23:29 All right, we're, um, back here on views from the ground, views from the damn ground
Speaker 15 00:23:34 <laugh>.
Speaker 7 00:23:35 Uh, and yeah, so just want to thank Nerdy on, um, that, um, amazing, um, song. That was a really good song. I really liked it. I also want to say, um, we just heard about the black history given a little bit about Fred Hampton and I was talking to a lot of, um, uh, youth at, um, my library over on the north side or side. Um, and it was just, um, really nice to talk to them about the Black Panthers. I thought it was really interesting that one, um, group of youth actually ended up, cuz I remember I told them about, um, that, you know, his wife was pregnant at the time that he was murdered and they got real obsessed with like his son. And like, it was like, oh, well he must be like ancient if he's like, like actually alive. And then they were really shocked when I pulled up a picture and he was like 40 or 50 and it was like, what? My dad's older than him and I was like, yeah, like, you know, this, this, this, this happened recently. Y'all like, you know, this isn't the past pass. Like, so. Um, without, uh, further ado, um, yeah, I would like to introduce my guests tonight we're gonna talk a little bit about, um, Dakota 38 plus two, um, lynching that happened, the biggest, um, lynching, um, in American history. So go and introduce, uh, introduce yourselves.
Speaker 17 00:25:03 My name is Justin Graye and I use he him pronouns.
Speaker 18 00:25:09 Hi <unk> Kate Bean. My name is Kate Bean. I use she her weam pronouns and I'm a citizen of the Land San Nation.
Speaker 17 00:25:22 She did so much better than I did <laugh> <laugh>,
Speaker 7 00:25:26 Um, yes. Um, with, uh, with that, so I know you Justin because we've been organizing, um, for a while in TCC for J when I used to organize with them. Um, and so yeah, we would see each other at the meetings a lot, right
Speaker 17 00:25:41 At the meetings. The protests. Yeah, at
Speaker 7 00:25:43 Protests. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, that's how we know each other. And uh, so also I remember I was, I remember I was talking to Native Lives Matter, um, uh, Gabe Antonio who organized there and they were telling me about the Memorial Rotten. Um, and I was like, oh yeah, like, you know, uh, they told me at some point in November about it and I was like, yeah, I'd be interested in going and, you know, so then, um, I found out it was like across town and, you know, I still wanted to go. And I was, I was a little nervous cause like I wasn't sure if I was gonna know anyone there. And um, yeah. And I remember seeing somewhere on Facebook where you were asking questions about, I was like, I'm gonna call Justin up and see if I can go with him and, you know, and so then we ended up going together, right?
Speaker 17 00:26:33 Yeah. I wanted to go. Yeah, I was, um, I really wanted to go. And it was funny cuz when I, when we got there and we were at the, the fire where they were kind of telling people what was gonna happen. You seem to know more people there than I did <laugh>. Because every time I turned around it was like, Hey, dj, dj. I'm like, oh, like, so you're pretty well known. You're pretty well known in the native community, obviously
Speaker 18 00:27:00 Pretty well known around Fort Nelly. <laugh> <laugh>.
Speaker 7 00:27:04 Yeah. I, there was, um, yeah, I didn't realize that, I mean, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised of like, you know, the people that show up to a lot of BLM and like, you know, uh, liberation work around there, show up also, you know, to um, yeah. To that type of stuff. So, um, the overlap made sense once I realized it and I was like, why was I worried I was gonna not know anyone. I was like, okay.
Speaker 17 00:27:29 So Oh, yeah. It was good to have you there. I'm glad. Yeah. I'm glad you, uh, came with us.
Speaker 7 00:27:35 Yeah. So, so, um, and so yeah, it started out, um, over in the Dakotas, right? Um,
Speaker 17 00:27:44 Well there's two things. There's the, the, um, run that runs from Co Crow Creek where they go on horse horseback and they track across South Dakota into Minnesota mm-hmm. <affirmative> and over to Fort, um, or into Mankato. And then there's the run that happens, which is what we went on Yep. From Fort Snelling down to Mankato. And then those two meet up at are supposed to meet up at a certain time at Man In, in Mankato and they have a ceremony there, and then they all go to the Land of Memories Park. So that's, that's what we did, you know? Yeah. But by the time the runners showed up this year, um, we were late. Oh, no. <laugh>. So we got there just as everybody had already kind of taken off.
Speaker 18 00:28:23 We didn't wear your fast shoes. Yeah. The, the <unk>. So the memorial runs been around since the 1980s, since the early 1980s. And it's, it's one of the, you know, the, the really, um, the older, uh, honoring that's been happening within the community, and that was started by some folks and, and, um, is still sort of spiritually guided by like the Owen family down in Prairie Island and, um, some of the same people. And this year was the 35th anniversary of that run. And I love that run because again, that's, that's one of the, the older honor honorings that our communities have done. The horse ride is, is great. That's, that's, um, been happening for a number of years. There was a film that I think a lot of people saw, um, to that talked about that, uh, that horseback ride. This was the last year for that ride. But then there's also a women's march that happens every two years. Um, and there are other types of honorings like that, that our community does to come together to remember the 38 as well as our women and children, the 1700 women and children that were removed, um, and the rest of our family members that, that suffered during that time period.
Speaker 7 00:29:38 Yeah. And, uh, and so, so we ended up going on the memorial run and we started up Fort Snelling and it was Christmas night and we ended up, people took turns, um, running, um, anywhere from like half a mile to like two to three miles mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um,
Speaker 17 00:30:00 There's usually at least one mile. And then, uh, if you wanted to go like up to three miles, I think they were asking people who wanted to run.
Speaker 18 00:30:07 Yeah. Yeah. They call it a relay, um, style rate. Yeah. Relay style run where you, um, we have a, with with we call a staff that gets passed along and that sort of guiding the runners. And then there's a, um, there's a, a bunch of of cars that come up behind and sort of support from, um, and I know I, I often drive, I'm not a runner. My husband <laugh>, Justin's cousin is my husband. He runs, I drive with the kids, um, and we all sort of, um, do it as a community effort together. Justin and I know each other because our, our, uh, our, our brother, uh, my brother-in-law is his brother and he's my husband is his cousin, and we're the Lexi and, and <unk> to Lil Quill. Bad Heart Bowl <laugh>.
Speaker 7 00:30:59 Yeah. Um, and yeah, it was, um, it was actually crazy to see Justin run, what, two miles?
Speaker 17 00:31:08 No, I, I, well, I ran two miles separately, not Yes, consecutively. But yeah, I didn't run two miles.
Speaker 7 00:31:13 Yeah. That, that was, that was crazy. And it was, it was very cold that night too.
Speaker 18 00:31:18 I remember one time you came with us when you ran and you ran a number of miles, they kept asking you to run more and you got in the car and your eyelashes were frozen and covered and white because
Speaker 17 00:31:28 Dallas, Dallas Gold, two last minute <laugh> run, he goes, can you run three miles? And I didn't want to say no <laugh> <laugh>, even though I'm not really a runner. So I just said, sure. And then, but by the time I got in the car, my eyelashes had like frozen over and they were like <laugh>. They looked concerned like there was something wrong with my eyes. And I'm like, what, what's <laugh>?
Speaker 18 00:31:48 It was, it was kind of scary looking <laugh> <laugh>. But it, it's interesting because, you know, different years that sometimes it's colder than others. And, um, people come from far away. You know, we have people who come in from Canada, people come in from the Dakotas, from Montana, from California, you know, we have relatives who come in to take part in this, this honoring because it's, it's really important for us to remember that Akok 38 who were hanged on December 26th, 1862. And to remember those relatives who, who paid a, paid a, a price during that time period and sacrifice so that, so that we could be here today. And I know it's hard. It's, it is a still a sacrifice. You know, there are some people that are, you know, spending Christmas with their families and, and you know, get to rest. And, and for our community, this, this time period means something very different,
Speaker 17 00:32:41 Especially cuz it's so cold, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Like, it's, that's a challenge in and of itself to be out there. Absolutely. But, you know, that's the good thing about the run is it helps me, or it is helped me to kind of understand what our ancestors went through, kind of the suffering that they went through. Even though ours is much minimal, we can jump back into a, a warm car and kind of warm ourselves up, but they didn't have any of that stuff. So it's, it's kind of, it's, it's good in terms of, um, my own personal understanding of that history and kind of what they went through. DJ even ran a mile.
Speaker 18 00:33:19 Hey, Maya
Speaker 7 00:33:21 <laugh>. Yeah. I, um, <laugh> the first mile since high school <laugh>.
Speaker 18 00:33:26 But you did it. That's good. I
Speaker 7 00:33:27 Did.
Speaker 17 00:33:28 So, so how did you feel about that? Like, what was going through your mind?
Speaker 7 00:33:32 I just, um, you know, I had, um, some people, um, ask me to do it <laugh> at the before we took off and, and I was like, okay, that sounds good. I'll, I'll, I haven't ran a mile since high school. I think I could, I think I could do it. I mean, usually the, the most running experience I get is running from the cops and it's usually not that long. So, um, but yeah, it was, um, yeah, it was, it was powerful to be a part of and to be trusted, to be allowed to, to be in it. And, um, you know, I was, um, real, it was real cold and I was real paranoid. I was like, don't drop, don't drop it. Like, oh
Speaker 17 00:34:11 Yeah. Cuz it was holding the staff too. Yeah.
Speaker 7 00:34:13 Cause cause I remember they said like, you can't drop the staff. And I've never been so scared to drop something in my life. I was like, oh Lord,
Speaker 18 00:34:20 Your hand was probably frozen shut around around holding it too. So, I mean, it's, it is a ceremony. Yeah. You know, it is something that's very spiritual and, and you know, that it, that is, is hard. And, and that reflection that you have while you're doing that, like, like brother Justin here just said, you know, it's, it's really important to, to be in the right head space and, you know, um, we've got a long, a lot of young people that come along and, and, you know, until a few years ago, it was an elder Emmett Eastman, one of my relatives who started the, who, who would start off from Fort Snelling. And so we started at Fort Snelling because that's where our people were imprisoned. Um, there was a concentration camp there, and that's where our, our women and children and elders were kept in. My grandfather died in that concentration camp. And so we started that space because it's also a really important space to us because it's also the side of our creation. We're one of the only people whose side of creation is also our side of genocide. And it's a very sacred space mm-hmm. <affirmative> that is now, you know, seen as a national park or celebrated as a, as a military site. And there's so much more to that, that place. And so to start there at that fire is, is really important.
Speaker 7 00:35:35 Yes. Um, and yeah, so it, so yeah. And I just think it's a, it, it's important to, to remember, um, you know, the Dakota people are still here. Like, you know, a lot of people talk about it in the past. Um, one of the main reasons I felt that really important to talk about it on this show is because I remember talking to Justin in the car and he was saying like, you know, a lot of people still don't know this happened. Um, so I, I knew about the Dakota 38, I didn't know about the plus two part mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, um, and so I was also learning, but, but I, I felt like a, a decent amount of people had knew about the, um, Dakota 38. But at the end of the run, we ended up getting hoodies, um, that had like the names of the people who were lynched mm-hmm.
Speaker 7 00:36:25 <affirmative> and, um, and, um, celebrating the 35th, um, memorial of it and of the run. And I remember I was wearing it, uh, a lot. Like I wore it like, uh, like two weeks straight up my job and I got so many questions mm-hmm. <affirmative> about it. Yeah. Um, about what it was and where it happened. And I was like, oh, okay. Well I guess I under, uh, I guess I, yeah, I, I didn't realize that so few people had knew about it, so I felt that it was important to raise this up. Um, you know, and, um, you know, I, we, you know, it's all about like solidarity, you know, as someone that is African American, I feel like we need to be in solidarity with the indigenous community here. Um, and so, you know, and so I think it's important to, to, to lift this up, but also to talk about, you know, like, um, even, even during black History month because, you know, this is, this is important. Like, you know. So, um, with that said, I want to, I want to get to like what first started, um, um, the deco the bass lynching, um, and you know, like, kind of like the Dakota Wars and, and before that, like, what led up to the Dakota Wars? So,
Speaker 18 00:37:40 Well, I think the way that oftentimes that history is taught is they say that it started with what they called it egg incident in Acton, Minnesota when a group of young warriors young men went out and they were searching for food, um, and ended up in, and ended up, um, uh, killing a, a white farmer family. And then there was retaliation for that. Um, that's not what started the Ulta War, though. That's the story that, that gets taught. If it gets taught. What actually happened is there's a long history of broken promises. And so you have this history of broken treaty promises with the first treaty of 1805, a number of treaties up, uh, until statehood in 1858. You know, you have a number of treaties where, um, essentially our, our family members who were very trusting of, of people, uh, and develop relationships with people, uh, smoked our, our, our ooah our pipe with people and, and made agreements with people, um, created these friendships.
Speaker 18 00:38:43 And the people who came in betrayed us and essentially turned our back, their backs on us. And we ended up, um, in a situation where we had been, um, we had lost ano a a lot of our land, the fur trade industry came in and took a lot of the resources. And so our people were starving. And so we were without land, we were without, without our, our, our resources. The buffalo, the game. Um, and there were so many changes that happened so quickly in 1849, there were less than 5,000 non-native people here in Minnesota, in this area, in Minnesota territory. By 1855, there were 153 thou, or no, by 1855 there were 53,000. So between 5,050 3000. And by 1858 there were 153,000. That's over, that's almost 153,000 in such a short period of time. And you know, when you talk about that, and I, I teach at the University of Minnesota, when I, when I talk about that, um, when other educators talk about that, you know, it's, it's like a science fiction film.
Speaker 18 00:39:51 It's like an invasion, you know? And it is, it was an occupation. It was an invasion of our territory. And you had promises, uh, for, to, to supply us with food, um, to supply us with resources such as schools and medical facility, you know, medical help and blacksmith shops. All of this was written into treaties along with annuities, you know, resources to help feed our families, feed our children. And the United States government didn't make good on any of those promises. And instead we lost our land to nothing. You know, 1805 treaty, we were promised a certain amount of funds for, you know, for, for that land. We never actually, uh, that treaty was never actually verified. It was never signed. It was never proclaimed by the president. And so, in reality, you know, this, this land was stolen and the money that was promised to our, our people was, was never given.
Speaker 18 00:40:44 Um, and so, you know, you have these, these agreements that were broken time and time again. You have people who were, uh, made to be dependent on the United States government for those resources and people who were imprisoned. It was illegal for us to leave these, these reservations essentially, that they created. There was two 10 mile strips of land on both sides of the river that we couldn't leave. And so when those young men left to go look for eggs, they were trying to feed their family members. And, um, violence erupted. And, uh, the, when they went back to the, the, the, uh, the village sites and, and talked to community members, they knew, you know, at that point in time, after everything that had happened over tho those recent years and the tensions that that had had, um, been happening and, and their outright racism that that was happening, um, they knew that there would be, uh, retaliation. And that's exactly what happened. And, you know, so that little crow and, and, and a number of theta declared war, not everyone did declare war. Not everyone fought in battle. Um, but some did. And, um, the result was that a number of, of people on both sides died. And when you look at what actually happened to our communities, it was Ulta, people who continue to pay the price for that time period in history when all we were doing was standing up for ourselves and for our children to be able to eat.
Speaker 17 00:42:17 I feel like every day that those Dakota people were starving, that was an act of violence against them. And desperate people are gonna do desperate things. You, they're thinking, you know, I'm sure some of 'em were thinking, we're gonna die anyway mm-hmm. <affirmative>, so, you know, let's do something about it.
Speaker 18 00:42:33 Yeah. And you, you look at the, the, the what happened in terms of the retaliation. You know, the Dakota people were, were exterminated, were exiled from the state, and it's still federal law, even though they made a difference at the state level. It's still illegal for me to be sitting here today. It's still on the books and nothing's been done about that. You know, the, and, and the fact is it's still a very unwelcoming place for us in our own home territory. This place that, that, that we came into creation. This is our, our, our territory. This is our homeland. And we know this land, and we're the stewards of this land. This land knows us. And so there's this, this connection that continues. And you know, when you look at what happened with the, the 38 Lakota, we say 38 plus two, because what ended up happening was a number, you know, there were three weeks of trials.
Speaker 18 00:43:21 And essentially they, they rounded up in all the Da Dakota men that they could bounties were put on our heads. The price for the, for the scallops of children was higher than those for adults. Wow. And the men, um, almost 400 men, um, were brought in for these trials that lasted three weeks. The trials were less than five minutes apiece, and then they declared 303 of them, um, as guilty of partaking in the Ulta War. And 303, they meant to Lynch 303 Ulta men at the last minute. Abraham Lincoln didn't, said he didn't want that much blood on his hands. Um, and this was all happening during the Civil War A. And so the, you know, United States was preoccupied with all of the Civil War that everything that was happening, which is part of the reason why our resources, our annuities didn't come in. Um, which is part of the reasons why our, our families were so hungry.
Speaker 18 00:44:17 Um, but the food that we did get was often spoiled. You know, there was just atrocity after atrocity, and you look at the reasons, and it wasn't, it wasn't a damn egg incident. You know, there were a lot of other reasons there. But there's the 38, um, Ulta warriors that ended up being hanged at Mankato, um, across from where the public library there is today on December 26th, 1862. And then on November 11th, 1865, uh, was when Medicine Ballen Shakopee, the plus two were hanged at Fort Snelling here in the Twin Cities, or what today is the Twin Cities.
Speaker 7 00:44:56 Oh, well, um, with that, we're gonna take, uh, we're gonna take a quick break and we will be right back here.
Speaker 19 00:45:08 K F A I is proud to present beyond the blue a night of cinema and sounds at the Cedar Cultural Center on Saturday, February 11th, an immersive evening into Sonic and Visual Beauty Beyond the Blue, curated by Pida Brown and Liz Draper. The program will feature musical sets by Iita Chaga, Chama Devora, Sarah Paju Mine songs, and Pi Brown's instrumental Project, Sylvie and the Sea Tickets for Beyond the Blue, A Night of Cinema and Sounds can be found at the Cedar Cultural Center website. Visit the cedar.org for more details.
Speaker 7 00:45:46 Alright. All right. Welcome back here to Views From the Ground. Views From Ground Views From the Damn Ground. Um, uh, what <inaudible>
Speaker 18 00:45:54 <laugh> <laugh>, every time I miss it. <laugh>
Speaker 7 00:45:58 Today, um, we are here talking about, um, uh, the Dakota 38, um, plus two mass lynching here. Um, and, uh, yeah, we just got done talking about, um, kind of like what led up, because you know, like you were saying, Abraham Lincoln was originally going to execute 303 Dakota Men mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and, um, then got it, and then ended up lynching, uh, 38. Yeah. And then two, two more couple of years afterwards. So
Speaker 18 00:46:31 I remember one time I was on the Minnesota Historical Society Archives. I used to work at the, the Historical Society, and I saw a newspaper and on one pa, uh, those newspapers at the time were really big. And on one side it said Lincoln Freeze the Slaves, and then right below it says Lincoln Hangs the 38.
Speaker 7 00:46:49 Oh, wow.
Speaker 18 00:46:52 This says a lot <laugh>. And we're still dealing with all of it. All of us are.
Speaker 7 00:46:58 Yeah. And, and you know, and that's also weird stuff too, because, you know, Lincoln just freed the slaves in order to try to win the war. Oh yeah. Because he actually wanted the free of these slaves, you know, so, yeah. And, you know, and one of the reasons, um, we have black history in February because Abraham Lincoln was such a predominant figure in black history, so mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. Just, so, yeah. Um, so you wanna talk a little bit about, um, what happened after, like what the after effects were after the Mass lynching, the biggest mass lynching in American history?
Speaker 18 00:47:43 Well, I think what you see happen after that is, is the, both the physical as well as the psychological and, and just all kinds of erasure. You know, we were erased from the landscape as, as native people. And that happened here, that happened everywhere across this country. As happens incontinence across the world with, with colonization and all native people. I think all people of color can, can identify and relate to, to that history. Um, you know, it's, it's a difficult history and it's a history that often doesn't get talked about, but absolutely needs to be talked about. But it's also a history that is a very small piece of a much longer story. And I think that's something that isn't always talked about. You know, when people do learn about us, the only thing they often learn about us is the Ulta War. And the fact is, our people were here much before that time period. We've been there, we've been here since we've returned as well. Um, people just, they think that we're not here anymore. They literally don't know that we're here. Not only are we considered statistically insignificant, people don't see us, but they think we're just gone. That we just somehow just chose to leave.
Speaker 7 00:48:58 Yeah. And, and, and I think that's, um, like you said, like we were talking earlier and you were talking about how important legacy is and, and helping to create that legacy, um, you know, for, for the Dakota people to remind people like, yes, we are still here. You know? Um, um, I know Justin was saying that you, um, were one of the people to helped, um, get, um, Calhoun Lake. My Calhoun
Speaker 17 00:49:26 Changed to Bday Maka,
Speaker 7 00:49:28 Yes. I forgot what the old name was. <laugh>. Good.
Speaker 18 00:49:31 We should all forget it. No. Oh, yeah. Um, my twin sister, Carly and I, and our, and our dad, our family worked on that, uh, the name Restoration at Adema Kaska, our, our ancestral village site <unk> is there. So we've done a lot of work there.
Speaker 17 00:49:48 I dunno, I think about just the, the Twin Cities area and how many like, sacred sites there are around mm-hmm. <affirmative>, like, like I think of like mini Haha falls, like that's a sacred site and people treat it like it's a playground. You know, like Indian
Speaker 18 00:50:04 Mounds Park,
Speaker 17 00:50:04 Indian Mounds Park. They let their, it's a
Speaker 18 00:50:06 Cemetery.
Speaker 17 00:50:07 Yeah, it's a cemetery. But you know, like mini Haha falls. There's people that just throw their trash on the ground and, you know, who's cleaning it up? Contingent contingencies of natives that are going out there and like cleaning, cleaning that stuff up because that, those are our sacred sites, you know? Um, apparently like Nicollet Island used to be a sacred site. Is that mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, so I mean, there's, when I walk around, I think about that. You know, I think about how this area was used for something, you know, that is very sacred to us and how people just kind of treat it like it's nothing today. You know what I mean? It's kind of frustrating as an indigenous person, as a Lakota person, you know, living back here in our ancestral manta. So
Speaker 18 00:50:53 Yeah, we see these, these lands very differently. I was in a meeting today with a guy who said, oh, I'm from GaN, Minnesota. I said, oh, that's Black Dogs Village. You know, it's not just the GaN outlets. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's, that's, uh, an ancestral village site along the river there. And there's an important history there. And there's very little signage. There might be a road named something and people don't know why it's there. You know, just like a lot of people don't know that Minnesota is a <unk> word. They don't know mini Sota. They don't know, you know, they know, oh, it's an Indian word or it's a native word, but they don't know the specifics of that history. And part of it is people don't know what they don't know. But at this day and age, in 2023 is what it is. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> at this day and age, people, you know, they, they, they gotta start reading some books and educating themselves because
Speaker 8 00:51:38 It's pretty obvious. Like things that we intentionally are not taught. Absolutely.
Speaker 18 00:51:42 Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. And there's so much backlash around it though. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, there's so much political backlash, you know, the whole critical race theory conversation, you know, and there are, there are tribes, there are people who are doing really hard work. They're on the ground doing the hard work to get that education out there, to create that curriculum. There's a whole understanding Native Minnesota initiative coming outta Shakopee and, and Rebecca Crook Stratton is doing that work. Um, you know, there's some amazing things happening out there, but we have to fight every step of the way just to get it included. Uh, and then we have to fight to get our, our kids, you know, to be able to be, to be proud of who they are and, and to, to be able to express themselves as native children within the, the public school system.
Speaker 8 00:52:30 Um, can you think of as native people, some of the things that have happened, um, recently, or I guess whenever, um, that have like really like struck you or like touched you or, or like made you like feel something like very strongly, like for me, I am not native, but when there was the water protectors set up a ceremony on the Capitol lawn, uh, of, of the Capitol, but, and I saw these big teepe and all of all of these ceremonies going on, I'm like, this is how it looked. This is how it should have looked like years and years and years ago before, you know, people came and colonized and killed and murdered and did acts of genocide against people. Like, this is how this whole area probably at one point looked. Um, so like for you guys as native people, what is something that is, whether it was the changing of the name or things like that, that have really touched you or have made you feel, uh, uh, strongly about something here in the state?
Speaker 17 00:53:35 Here in the state.
Speaker 8 00:53:36 Yeah. Let's say, let's say in the state of Minnesota. Yeah.
Speaker 18 00:53:38 Well, I mean, outside of the state, because these aren't our borders would be standing rock where Justin's from. Yeah. And that definitely walking around and, and being able, you know, my kids are Lakota Dako and Nakota, which is the, the, you know, three, three bands of the Oceti Chak, the Seven Council Fires. Other people know us as Sue, but Where're the Oceti Chaco, uh, where Oceti chaing. And to have my kids be able to walk around those grounds and see family from all sides was the first time that that had ever impossibly will ever happen. Uh, that was amazing to see so many of our people come together. But the other one that I would think of would be, you know, after the murder of George Floyd, when our communities came together, you know, my husband was out, you know, helping protect some of the native, uh, businesses alongside a lot of our, our, our black brothers and sisters and, and a, a lot of folks along Lake Street and different communities, you know, communities of color were, were coming together to, to protect our neighborhoods and to support and our, our neighborhood businesses and to, to protect each other.
Speaker 18 00:54:45 And for me, it's really about community. And that's what we do as community.
Speaker 8 00:54:51 It doesn't have to be confined to Minnesota, where, wherever you'd like. What about we
Speaker 7 00:54:55 Don't need any arbitrary borders. Borders.
Speaker 17 00:55:00 They're borders. Not hard. Um, for me, I think it's, um, I was very lucky because I was raised, um, like my, both my parents, my biological parents are from Standing Rock, but my mother married my stepfather when I was three years old. And he's a full-blooded Ola Lakota from, uh, pine Ridge, the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. And so I was really raised around him and his family, and they grew up as full-blood speaking. Um, our Lakota language, first English is really their second language. And so they grew up with our customs, our ceremonies. Like they grew up with all of that stuff. And so I was very lucky to be raised, um, going to some of those ceremony, going to participating in those things. Um, and just being able to see that, I feel very lucky because there's a lot of natives that don't have those experiences. Yeah. Mm. Um, there's that, there's things like, like my brother who passed away just a little over a year ago, his name was Jay Batural. He actually is the one that got, um, indigenous People's Day, you know,
Speaker 18 00:56:08 In the city of Minneapolis
Speaker 17 00:56:09 For the city of Minneapolis. Cuz it was like Columbus Day before that. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So, um, so he's, that's kind of, and so I'm very proud of that. I'm proud of like, my sister and her twin sister, Carly and Kate for changing the name. That brings me a lot of pride, you know, every time I go by there, it's nice to, to actually see that on there. Um, and just being part of the movement, um, and seeing how like indigenous people and black people came together, um, after George Floyd died and seeing everything from after, like, cuz I saw everything that happened after that, like, after George Floyd died, being at I, I, I saw, I saw it all like, and I went to all these protests and it was, it was nice to see like people coming together mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so I feel very inspired by a lot of things that have happened here in the Twin Cities. And I feel like it's a good place in terms of the movement, um, for indigenous people, black and brown people. Yeah. Um, in terms of the way we've worked together mm-hmm. <affirmative> and come together in a good way and try to understand each other's struggles and support each other.
Speaker 18 00:57:19 I think it was interesting that they called it an uprising, cuz the Lakota war used to be called Theta Uprising. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, and then it was called the Lakota Conflict, which seemed too soft. Like, and there has been different conversations, different eras where different terms were used mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And it used to be that people didn't like Dako uprising because they thought it, it, it seemed like that Nakota people were too violent or animalistic or, or what have you. And over the years as I've been teaching, it was interesting, a lot of my students over the years have have told me no, we like that term uprising. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> because it means we're standing up for ourselves mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so, you know, thinking about the, the, the, these terms and the way we use them and, and what they mean for our communities and what we learn from, from them is really interesting. And there's a lot of overlap between communities and there's ways that we can learn about one another and, and understand these histories in different ways. But the, the, the basic, you know, foundation of it is that, you know, this, this is the history of this land is, is, uh, the United States government and the history of Minnesota as a state was, was built on white supremacy and violence. And that has to change.
Speaker 7 00:58:28 Yeah. Well, uh, thank you so much for sharing those experiences. I, I definitely, um, one of my favorites, seeing the black and indigenous community working hand in hand. I know during the uprising I was, um, helping out AIM patrol on Franklin. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> nice. Um, defend the neighborhood cuz I thought that was important, um, for me. And so, yeah. So it was nice to see our communities really come together and working together cuz you know, to get black and indigenous liberation and the land back and you know, everything, we're gonna have to work together and I think that's important. So I'm a with that, um, this has been views from the ground, views
Speaker 17 00:59:13 From views from the dam ground.
Speaker 7 00:59:15 And we'll see y'all all next week.
Speaker 21 00:59:18 Democracy. In a capitalist economy, it's no democracy. I demand the return to my sovereignty. No apology, independence, autonomy, no need to mommy me. I could run my own country if you could just stop bombing me, gimme my lamb back, gimme my gold back, my heritage, my birthright. You outright stole that. Organize, organize, organize. Do wait. With all the lies. All the lies. All the lies. They come in with the act of the clock and the 45 in between the protests we protest and Rio lawyers. Yes, we are the organized, organized to away with all the lies. All the lies. All the lies they come in with the tear, blacks and 45 in between the protests we protest and Rio.
