"We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, and winding streams with tangled growth as "wild". To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery."

Luther Standing Bear - Rosebud Sioux

Guardian of the Water Medicine

Guardian of the Water Medicine
Dale Auger

Dale Auger

Dale Auger: On Art, Blood and Kindred Spirits
by Terri Mason

Defining Dale Auger in one sentence is akin to releasing the colours of a diamond in one cut. It can’t be done. It’s the many facets that release a diamond’s true brilliance, as it is the many facets of Auger’s life, education, ancestry, experiences and beliefs that have shaped and polished his work into the internationally acclaimed and collected artist that he is today.

Born a Sakaw Cree from the Bigstone Cree Nation in northern Alberta, Auger’s education began as a young boy when his mother would take him to be with the elders. “I used to say to myself, ‘Why is she leaving me with these old people?’ – but today I see the reason; I was being taught in the old way.”

Auger’s respect for traditional teachings led him on a journey to study art, opening the door to a doctorate in education. He is a talented playwright, speaker and visual artist whose vividly coloured acrylics have captured the attention of collectors that reads like an international ‘Who’s Who’ spanning English to Hollywood royalty. The essence of his work is communication, and now Dr. Auger has come full circle, interpreting the life of his culture – from the everyday to the sacred - through the cross-cultural medium of art.

Read the rest here:

http://www.daleauger.com/printversionbio.cfm

Monday, May 12, 2008

Celebration, somber protest at Capitol

By: Kara McGuire

After years of preparation, Minnesota kicked off its 150th birthday celebration week Sunday, the actual anniversary of Minnesota's statehood. There was no cake and it was too windy to light 150 candles anyway, but the citizens who came out to remember Minnesota's past and ponder its future were treated to a wagon train, remarks by several politicians and, on a more solemn note, a protest.

About 75 American Indians and supporters gathered on sacred ground at Indian Mounds Park on Sunday morning for a march to the Capitol, holding banners with phrases such as "take down the Fort"-- a reference to Fort Snelling, which they said played a key role in abuses of Minnesota's native tribes. Others wore black masks and carried scaffolding with 38 nooses in remembrance of the 38 Dakota men executed in Mankato by order of President Abraham Lincoln, on Dec. 26, 1862.

"We tried to encourage [sesquicentennial organizers] to use this year for truth-telling," said Gustavus Adolphus scholar Waziyatawin Angela Wilson. According to Wilson, Minnesota leaders "refused and wanted to continue with their birthday celebration and not let truth-telling get in the way."

On Saturday, the Dakota protesters briefly stalled the Sesquicentennial Wagon Train as it approached its camping area at Fort Snelling. Police removed several protesters from the path of the train, which left Cannon Falls seven days ago on a circuitous 101-mile trip to the Capitol. It arrived Sunday afternoon and this time police kept the two groups separated.

Keep reading here: http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/18848444.html
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