On Oct. 21, Cook County Higher Education held a virtual presentation regarding the treaties of Northern Minnesota and their lasting effects on the Indigenous Peoples who once lived throughout the state. 

Rather than beginning with formal introductions, “We Are All Treaty People” instead began with a land acknowledgment: “We recognize that the actions of the United States government and its representatives in Minnesota before, during and after the U.S.-Dakota War constitute genocide and are part of the larger genocide of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and the United States.”

That quote comes from George Dalbo, who shared the land acknowledgment. Dalbo is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Minnesota.

Dalbo currently works alongside colleague Joe Eggers in the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at UMN. Dalbo and Eggers gave this presentation as a part of the Genocide Education Outreach Program. 

“George and I have been working on this program now for two, three, or four years; it all blurs together, especially in the pandemic,” Eggers said. This was the second presentation they have done in partnership with Cook County Higher Education.

During the presentation, Dalbo and Eggers explained how treaties made with the Dakota, Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk nations are not being honored today. 

Following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, the United States revoked its treaties made with the Dakota, denying them of their rights that were granted to them in exchange for their land. 

While the Ojibwe were never formally revoked of their rights, Minnesota law contradicts many of the treaties made between the United States and the Ojibwe.

The effects of this can be seen today, with Indigenous Peoples, such as the Ojibwe, having to fight for their rights that were granted by the U.S. government.

“The action of abrogating the treaties with the Dakota is very telling about the government's attitudes towards treaties with native peoples,” Eggers said. “It shouldn't be surprising that just eight years later, the federal government abandoned this policy altogether.” 

The practice of performing land acknowledgments began in 2015, following a call to action by The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Ottowa, Canada. The goal of this commission was to hold the Canadian government accountable for the mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples.

Land Acknowledgments have become increasingly popular in Canada, as well as other countries who acquired their land through unjust means. While the United States has been slow to adopt this practice, speakers such as Dalbo are using their platforms to honor Indigenous Peoples and their connection to the land that was taken from them.

“It’s almost literally the least we can do in terms of better understanding and recognizing the painful history that native peoples have endured,” Eggers said. “There's a lot more that can be done, but a land acknowledgment is like an easy, sort of beginner step to do that.”