by Thomas Dahlheimer
I am an Indigenous Peoples’ rights activist who wrote a draft bill to change Minnesota’s 13 derogatory geographic place names that are offensive to Natives. When Mike Jaros was a MN Rep., he, after I addressed the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) and received the council’s approval for him to introduced the bill to the MN legislature, he introduced it.
Recently, I have been corresponding with, both, Annamarie Hill-Kleinhans, the Executive Director of the MIAC, and Rep. Dean Urdahl concerning the bill to change our state’s derogatory geographic place names. Rep. Urdahl is considering taking up the cause which Mike Jaros left when he retired as a MN representative.
I have been looking for more support from MN representatives, therefore, I recently sent an e-mail to all of Minnesota’s representatives. It includes information about who I have been corresponding with, what progress is being made and links to my (1.) MIAC draft resolution endorsing the bill, (2.) my Minnesota Apology Resolution for the exploitation of Minnesota’s Natives, and (3.) my article titled: U.S. and States Should Establish Truth and Reconciliation Commissions.
The e-mail was addressed to all of Minnesota’s representatives, with the exception of Rep. Urdahl. So far, one Republican representative called me in response to the e-mail. He gave his support and advice and offered to help.
I also sent a similar e-mail to Rep. Dean Urdahl. After receiving the e-mail, Rep. Urdahl sent me a response e-mail message. He mentioned that he and I at some point will have to get together on this. And that he would be getting in touch with me.
Annamarie Hill-Kleinhans has been corresponding indirectly (through me) with Kathy Langer, the social concerns director for Saint Cloud Diocese. We recently had a meeting at the request of Bishop John Kinney. Kathy Langer informed me that she will be meeting with Bishop Kinney to discuss my work and present my requests to him. Archbishop John Nienstedt recently informed me that he and Bishop Kinney will be discussing my Indigenous Peoples rights activist work at the next Minnesota Catholic Conference meeting.
Indian Country Today (ICT) recently published an article titled – Newcomb: World Conservation Congress endorses Declaration. The following two statements are from this ICT article by Newcomb. Note: I correspond with Newcomb and other internationally renowned Indigenous activists.
(1.) With the passage of the document, “Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,’ the WCC also acknowledges a connection between the colonization of Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories and several Vatican papal decrees and other similar documents from the fifteenth and later centuries. The motion explains that these were official authorizations to “invade, capture, vanquish” and “subdue” Indigenous Peoples, “subjugate” them and “reduce their persons to perpetual slavery” and “to take away all their possessions and property.”
(2.) The motion acknowledges that the effect of these authorizations, and the doctrines that followed from them, such as the “doctrine of discovery,” “terra nullius” and “terra nullus,” not only have been ecologically and culturally destructive for Indigenous Peoples, their lands, territories and resources, but also made passage of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples necessary.
In my draft Minnesota Apology Resolution there are the following two apology statements:
(1.) We acknowledge that the root cause of the subjugation and exploitation of Minnesota Indian tribes, as being the papal bull of 1493 (Inter Caetera); wherein, Pope Alexander IV directed colonial European nations to go to the Americas and “subjugate the barbaric people and their lands, and bring them to the faith”.
(2.) We acknowledge that this papal bull (Inter Caetera) was used to formulate colonial European international law, a law that was later, both, incorporated into United States law as well as used to influence American citizens, including Minnesota citizens, to conform to a unified white racist or white supremacist and religious sectarian proselytizing mind set that was, and still is, the root cause of the subjugation and exploitation of Minnesota Indian tribes as well as all other U.S. Indian tribes.
reference links:
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council Draft Resolution http://www.towahkon.org/MIACdraftresolution.html
Minnesota Apology Resolution http://www.towahkon.org/apologyresolution.html
Article of mine: U.S. and states should establish Truth and Reconciliation Commissions http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/791464
letter in a Winona, Minnesota newspaper: State looks to settle up with past http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2008/06/07/opinion/otherviews/01guest07.txt
Anoka County Union letter of mine, mentions my correspondence with Newcomb:
http://thomas-dahlheimer.blogspot.com/2008/12/indigenous-peoples-rights.html
Link to my recent open letter to Chris Liefeld, Executive Director for the Minnesota Catholic Conference: http://www.towahkon.org/Chris.html
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