Leaving Saint Paul
Early hours wihinape sni
Two Dakota winyan and a child
Traveling across long dark prairie roads
Warmth inside while viewing a cold flat landscape of whiteness
Reflection of stars and waning moon of popping trees cankapopa wi
Passing occasional farms and isolated homes duskily lit
Where wasicu were tucked snugly under warm colored quilts
In the dark they first met
Sisters under starlight
As golden sun rays touched faces
Revealing dark hair, dark eyes sparkling
Discussion of hearts light and hearts heavy
Backseat child wrapped in dreams
To honor ancestors, to follow the tracks, to sacrifice
Dakota Memorial Ride 38+2, canku sichun
In Morton they arrive hours later to bring food
Dakota winyan ready to prepare a hot early breakfast feast
A large-hearted but misguided woman
Tells someone not to serve the food they brought
Lateral trauma of the people
Dakota winyan avails to her a family teaching
Food is a sacred gift to be shared
Oyate wica wotapi
In a gym the riders line up: men, women, children, visitors
To honor the ancestors, to feed them
Little girls help, happily toast and butter
Oatmeal, eggs, bacon, sausage, gravy, fried potatoes
Juice, milk, cowboy coffee
Elders sit in a circle, ancient teachings
New friends, old friends, friends from afar
To renew and to heal, icantewaste
Frosty morning in his grey pickup truck,
Kind-faced Dakota rider brings them to a corral
To dozens of curious four-leggeds
Equine encircle Dakota winyan and girls
Paint horses, quarter horses, Appaloosas, palominos
Vigorous horses of the four colors, the rider carries a bag of treats
Sunkawakan yankapi, joyous little girls climb on leather saddles to ride
With brown and white dancing feather on horse’s bridle wambi wiyaka
kin waci
Zenith sun wiyotaahaa wacipi,
Gym resounds earth drum heartbeats wicasa dowanpi
Three visiting chiefs in headdresses speak wisdom yamni wiscasta itacan
wapaha tun
Eagle staffs, graceful male and female dancers, beautiful colors ohomni
Dakota winyan omniciye gather and visit,
Plans to meet next time in a cabin by Spirit Lake
Some in beautiful regalia, agilely joining the dance
Stop to visit with friends, movement of vibrant moccasins
To journey before sunset the Dakota winyan and child depart early
Imnajaskadan ehaankipi
And early next morning as Dakota riders and horses leave for Mah-Ka-To,
Sunkawakan yankapi
Ancestor spirits breathe a gift of happiness
Love and peace fill hearts to those who sacrifice
Morning under a brilliant rainbow encasing sunrise, parhelion the blessing
Wiacheti ici
Poem: LISA YANKTON, a member of the Spirit Lake Dakota, is a community organizer, educator, writer, and mother. At night, she can be found stargazing. Instead of wishing on a star, she wishes she knew their names. Her community activities include serving as a juror for the Saint Paul Sidewalk Poetry Contest, blogging for the Minnesota Book Awards, teaching at Minneapolis
Community and Technical College, coordinating the Dakota Nationwide Conference, leading the Brooklyn Historical Society, and serving on The Circle newspaper board. During the Dakota War of 1862, her grandmother fled from Minnesota to North Dakota.
Art: NARATE KEYS, The Sun's Reflector, Painting. Narate is a Cambodian American poet and spoken word artist living in Saint Paul. She has self-published The Changes . . . Immigration Footprints of Our Journey and The Good Life and co-authored Planting SEADs: Southeast Asian Diaspora Stories. Keys’ family lived through the Khmer Rouge genocide; she was born in a Thailand refugee camp. Through poetry, Keys has found love, appreciation, and encouragement. Keys performs her poems at various Minnesota venues, including the Loft Literary Center, Springboard for the Arts, Dragon Festival, and In the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre’s MayDay Festival. Learn more at NarateKeys.com.
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