North Dakota
North Dakota Native Americans grapple with dark boarding school history in day of remembrance
FORT TOTTEN, N.D. — The message written on Denise Lajimodiere’s vibrant orange shirt is temporary and blunt: “Federal Indian boarding colleges have been genocide.”
It’s a sentiment the
writer and former North Dakota State College professor
has believed for a few years, however solely just lately has broader recognition come to the grim historical past of Native American boarding colleges — what Lajimodiere calls “America’s best-kept secret.”
Lajimodiere was amongst about 50 individuals who gathered outdoors of the Fort Totten State Historic Web site on Friday, Sept. 30, to look at a day of remembrance for Native American youngsters who attended boarding colleges that aimed to strip them of their tradition, language and household ties.
The second annual “Each Little one Issues” occasion held on the Spirit Lake Reservation aligned with the Nationwide Day for Fact and Reconciliation, which Canadian activists established in 2013 to boost consciousness for the legacy of the nation’s residential colleges.
The Canadian authorities made Sept. 30 a federal vacation final yr after an anthropologist
introduced she had discovered unmarked graves
seemingly belonging to 200 youngsters on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential Faculty in British Columbia.
The disturbing discovery at Kamloops in Could 2021 has prompted the
U.S. to start reckoning
with its personal historical past of government-sponsored compelled assimilation of Native People. Occasions just like the one in Fort Totten have grown out of that heightened consideration, Lajimodiere mentioned.
At the least 13 Native American boarding colleges existed in North Dakota, together with a big federally run establishment at Fort Totten,
in accordance with Lajimodiere’s analysis.
The Spirit Lake Tribe, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and the State Historic Society of North Dakota
just lately agreed to companion in a seek for the stays of youngsters
across the former Fort Totten Indian Industrial Faculty.
The Friday gathering featured prayer, storytelling and a “therapeutic fireplace” that burned from dawn to sundown. Organizers from the Spirit Lake chapter of Household and Little one Training handed out orange T-shirts — a reference to the
occasion’s Canadian roots.
Audio system together with Lajimodiere and North Dakota Rep. Ruth Buffalo, D-Fargo, informed attendees about their private and household ties to boarding colleges.
Lajimodiere, an enrolled Turtle Mountain member, has spent years documenting the experiences of boarding college survivors. Her father, grandfather and different relations attended Fort Totten, which she calls a “hellhole boarding college.”
“That is definitely a day of remembrance for me personally — remembering the hell that they went via right here,” Lajimodiere mentioned.
Earlier Discussion board Information Service reporting
and Lajimodiere’s findings discovered that the Fort Totten college, open from 1891 to 1959, had a tradition of systemic abuse and neglect of youngsters.
Lajimodiere mentioned her father witnessed the deaths of fellow college students from sickness, bodily abuse, hunger and loneliness (
“failure to thrive”
).
“It was a type of genocide, in addition to cultural genocide,” Lajimodiere mentioned.
Buffalo, an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, mentioned she at all times knew her mom had attended boarding college in Wahpeton, but it surely wasn’t till the invention at Kamloops final yr that her mom started to share particulars of the punishments and cruelty she endured on the establishment.
Faculty directors made Buffalo’s mom kneel on a broomstick for talking her native language, the lawmaker mentioned. Younger boys had their hair reduce quick towards their will, she added.
Those that survived boarding colleges typically had the trajectory of their lives shortened by the expertise, and the scars stay of their households generations later, mentioned Buffalo, who sits on the board of the
Nationwide Native American Boarding Faculty Therapeutic Coalition.
Many boarding college survivors select to maintain their childhood experiences bottled as much as keep away from traumatizing the youthful generations, however occasions just like the one at Fort Totten “let individuals realize it’s OK to share their very own tales,” Buffalo mentioned via tears. That public recognition may help set off a therapeutic course of, she mentioned.
Spirit Lake Tribal Chairman Doug Yankton knowledgeable attendees in regards to the tribe’s efforts to
repatriate the stays of a boy named Edward Upright
who died and was buried on the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial Faculty in Pennsylvania.
The U.S. Military, which maintains the cemetery in Carlisle, has
pledged to facilitate the return of Upright’s stays
to the Spirit Lake Reservation subsequent yr.
Tribal leaders throughout North Dakota imagine
the longer term will deliver extra repatriations
as researchers look into former boarding college websites.
Occasion organizer Nancy Robertson mentioned she hopes shining a lightweight on the historical past of boarding colleges will support within the tribes’ push to “discover all the youngsters which can be lacking.”
Spirit Lake member Marva Tiyowakanhdi, who opened the gathering with a prayer within the Dakota language, mentioned the occasion can function “an awakening to the tragedies and traumas” endured by tribal elders and people who have handed away. However Tiyowakanhdi mentioned remembering boarding college survivors additionally celebrates the resilience of her individuals within the face of persecution.
“One of many issues we’re at all times saying since we’re standing right here is that as a result of certainly one of them made it, we made it,” Tiyowakanhdi mentioned. “When you take a look at it that method, it’s form of an honor towards them.”
North Dakota
Colorado’s opener with North Dakota State has most bets in 2024
Colorado football is set to return to the Big 12 in 2024 with heightened expectations and a revitalized roster. Head coach Deion Sanders is preparing to capitalize on a significant influx of talent, with 41 transfers and six high school signees joining the squad. This influx provides an opportunity to improve upon last season’s 4-8 record and establish a stronger presence in the competitive Big 12 conference.
The release of the Big 12’s 2024 schedule has highlighted several pivotal matchups that could determine the success of the Buffaloes’ season. However, the non-conference schedule is equally critical, featuring challenging games that will test Colorado’s readiness for Big 12 play. Notably, the Week 1 game against North Dakota State (NDSU) stands out as a potential trap game that the Buffaloes cannot afford to underestimate.
Betting odds reflect the high interest in this matchup, with 82 percent of bets favoring Colorado, according to BetMGM. Despite Colorado being favored by 8.5 points, the narrow margin indicates a level of respect for NDSU’s capabilities. The Bison, although an FCS team, have a storied history of success, having won nine national championships since 2011, including two of the last five. Even with the departure of head coach Matt Entz, NDSU remains a formidable opponent under new head coach Tom Polasek.
The Buffaloes’ modest favor by just a touchdown at home underscores the challenge posed by NDSU. Polasek, formerly Wyoming’s offensive coordinator, brings a wealth of experience and a winning mentality to the Bison. The uncertainty surrounding NDSU’s starting quarterback adds intrigue, with Cam Miller’s potential return for a graduate year hanging in the balance. Miller’s impressive performance last season, with 32 total touchdowns and only four interceptions, makes him a critical factor. Additionally, wide receiver Eli Green, who averaged nearly 20 yards per catch in 2023, poses a significant threat to Colorado’s secondary.
Coach Sanders is acutely aware of the threat NDSU poses, emphasizing the need for his team to remain focused and prepared. “Don’t underestimate North Dakota State,” Sanders stated on FS1’s Undisputed. “Those guys come to play and they can play.” As the season approaches, Sanders and his squad will need to channel their motivation and talent to navigate both their non-conference and Big 12 schedules successfully.
North Dakota
In RNC speech, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says Trump will unleash American energy dominance
MILWAUKEE — Serving as North Dakota governor under former President Donald Trump was like having “a beautiful breeze at our back,” Doug Burgum said Wednesday, July 17, at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
The GOP governor, who was considered a top contender to be Trump’s vice president, contrasted that to President Joe Biden, saying being governor during the Democrat’s administration was like “a gale force wind in our face.”
“Biden’s war on energy hurts every American because the cost of energy is in everything that we use or touch every day,” Burgum said.
The governor took to the stage Wednesday night at the Fiserv Forum during the third day of the RNC. The governor from the second top-producing oil state in the U.S. criticized Biden’s policies on energy, claiming they have raised the price of gas, food, clothes and rent.
“Biden’s green agenda feels like it was written by China, Russia and Iran,” Burgum said.
Burgum was passed up on Monday as Trump’s vice president pick for U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, though there is speculation the North Dakotan could be a part of Trump’s administration.
The governor has spent time campaigning for Trump and looks to continue that. Burgum praised Trump as a friend of energy and a champion of innovation over regulation.
“Unleashing American energy dominance is our path back to prosperity and peace through strength,” Burgum said. “Teddy Roosevelt encouraged America to speak softly and carry a big stick. Energy dominance will be the big stick that President Trump will carry.”
Burgum joked that the last time he was in Milwaukee, he had to stand on one leg behind a podium for the first Republican presidential debate for the 2024 election. The night before the August debate, which was also held in the Fiserv, Burgum tore his Achilles tendon during a pickup basketball game, sending him to the emergency room and putting him in a walking boot.
During the speech, he asked who would make America energy dominant, to which the crowd yelled twice, “Trump!”
On the third time, he asked the crowd to yell it loud enough to wake Biden up, an insult playing into reports that the Democrat is a 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. president and is in cognitive decline. The crowd replied “Trump” loudly.
“When Trump unleashes American energy, we unleash American prosperity and we ensure our national security,” Burgum said
Burgum, who is from the small town of Arthur, North Dakota, also said rural America and small towns feed, fuel and defend the world.
“Rural America is Trump country,” Burgum said.
In a statement issued after the speech, North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party Chair Adam Goldwyn called Burgum “a billionaire cosplaying as a cowboy with an undirected Carhartt.”
“Burgum signed one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country, and that is wreaking havoc on North Dakotan women,” Goldwyn said. “After supporting bills to promote equality in North Dakota, he threw LGBTQ folks under the bus when he signed laws that discriminate against them. Will Burgum finally return to North Dakota now, or will he continue to neglect his gubernatorial duties? Either way his time in the national spotlight is over and he is no longer a ‘top priority.’”
Trump secured the Republican nomination for president. He is expected to face Biden in the general election.
North Dakota
Plain Talk: 'I'm bringing people together'
MINOT — Sandi Sanford, chair of the North Dakota Republican Party, joined this episode of Plain Talk from the GOP’s national convention in Milwaukee, where, she said, “the security plan changed drastically” after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
Republicans have been focused on unity at this event — two of Trump’s top rivals during the primaries, Gov. Ron DeSantis and former ambassador Nikki Haley, endorsed him in speeches at the convention — but Sanford acknowledged to my co-host Chad Oban and me that this may be a heavy lift.
“People know that what we’re dealing with in North Dakota with the different factions,” she said, initially calling the populist wing of the party the “far right” before correcting herself and describing them as “grassroots.”
The NDGOP delegation to the national convention
wasn’t necessarily behind Gov. Doug Burgum potentially being Trump’s running mate
(Burgum himself was passed over for a delegate slot by the NDGOP’s state convention), but Sanford said she felt the delegates were “really confident in Donald Trump and his pick.”
“It gets dicey,” she said of intraparty politics. “It can get cruel,” but Sanford said her job is to keep the factions united. “I’m bringing people together.”
Sanford also addressed a visit to the North Dakota delegation from Matt Schlapp of the American Conservative Union (the organization which puts on the Conservative Political Action Conference). In March, Schlapp paid
a nearly half-million settlement
to a man he allegedly made unwanted sexual advances toward. “My delegation wanted to hear from CPAC,” she said, adding that Schlapp was “on a speaking circle” addressing several state delegations.
Also on this episode, we discuss how the assassination attempt on Trump might impact the rest of this presidential election cycle and whether Democrats will replace incumbent President Joe Biden.
Want to subscribe to Plain Talk? Search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, or
click here
for more information.
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