Mni Sota Makoce

1.       When Wasicuna's father says, "It is hard to be an Indian," he is referring to the roots of the American Indian people being stripped from them and the struggle of living life without an identity.  Wasicuna alludes to the fact that the struggle of American Indians today has its roots in past colonists' oppression and forced assimilation into white society, and has been perpetuated by oblivion.  Dakota history, until recently, has not been a part of American history.  People are instead taught falsehoods solely from the perspective of colonists, that do not reflect truth or Dakota ideals.  To have people learn lies about you takes away a truth from your identity.  But overall, the Dakota people have a sense of respect for everything.  For the land, the water, and the people.  All people.  Largely, in the past, white people treated the Dakota with abhorrent disrespect, taking their home: the land.  But the Dakota people did not fight back with violence; it is not in their way.  As a result, they lose themselves.  It is hard for them to stay in touch with who they are today, as American Indians, because of the past.

2.       Another claim from Wasicuna's foreword is that one reason that the true history of the Dakota people has not been taught in schools is their honorable nature -- listening always.  This has made the Dakota history distorted, false, and untold.  People cannot have solidarity in their hearts, as a result.  Names of Minnesota cities like Shakopee and Chaska are misspelled and mispronounced, and the stories are shallow, Wasicuna says.  Furthermore, the Dakota people accept this, because they listen.  They were told not to be who they were, and they lost themselves.  Wasicuna states, "we were told not to speak our language and we listened."  As a result, their language is on the brink of extinction.  Wasicuna appreciates a move towards people seeking to hear Dakota stories, 150 years after the Dakota-U.S. War, so that healing can finally take place between people.

3.       The chapter is titled "Homelands" because it tells of the rich, spiritual connection that the Dakota feel to their home.  It talks about the meaning of home, the location of home, the presence of home in the Dakota language, and the spiritual nature of home.  All of these ideas contribute to a greater importance of home for the Dakota people.  Home is the land, where the Creator originates, and where life has meaning.  Therefore, taking away land -- home, earth, Ina, the mother -- the life that it provides is taken away.  Bdote Mni Sota, the confluence of the two rivers, is the home.  The spiritual home, where all Dakota are from.