Back in late February, Tom Cherveny reported in the West Central Tribune, Their goal to live a traditional, Dakota lifestyle will take an act of the Legislature.
On Monday, HF4229, " bill for an act relating to code enforcement; establishing a waiver process to the State Building Code and State Fire Code for members of recognized tribes. . ." was introduced in the Minnesota House. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville, is the chief author, with Mary Kunesh-Podein, DFL-New Brighton, and Jeff Brand, DFL-St. Peter, as co-sponsors.
Becker-Finn and Kunesh-Podein are members of the People of Color and Indigenous, or POCI, caucus, formed in 2017. Becker-Finn is a descendant of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe; Kunesh-Podein is a descendant of the Standing Rock Lakota.
Why did this issue gain our attention? Cherveny reports:
A group of Dakota seeking land justice also want to practice the traditional way of life of their ancestors. They began erecting traditional, Dakota earthen lodges to be their homes, but received a cease and desist order for being in violation of state building codes. They need an act of the legislature to live a traditional lifestyle today.
Their goal is to build seven, traditional Dakota, earthen lodges and live in a sustainable way while practicing the centuries-old way of life of their ancestors.
It will require an act of the Legislature to live the traditional Dakota life today.
“That’s the irony and the painful reminder,” said Waziyatawin, who is among the members of Makoce Ikikicupi, a nonprofit devoted to Dakota land recovery. “I often say it is illegal to be Dakota in the Dakota homeland.’’
She and other members of Makoce Ikikicupi used funds raised by supporters of their effort to recover Dakota lands to purchase approximately 21 acres of land just west of Granite Falls in the Minnesota River Valley. The site is above the rodeo grounds along U.S. Highway 212. They acquired a land use permit from Yellow Medicine County for the site, and complied with a requirement to notify the city of Granite Falls about their building plans.
Last summer, they began to erect three earthen lodges on the site. They intend to erect the timber and earthen structures and live as a small village. Waziyatawin and her husband intend to make one of the lodges their home. She expects that the other lodges will also have year-round residents; some could be families with children.
Volunteers helping the group erected the central columns, the outer ring of poles and got some of the rails in place on the three lodges last summer when the cease and desist order came from the city of Granite Falls. Under his obligation to enforce the state building code, the city’s building inspector advised the group that the structures were not in compliance. There are a variety of building code issues, chief among them a fire safety code requiring two exits. The traditional lodges have one.
The city is on record as not being opposed to the project, but it must enforce the building code, according to Granite Falls Mayor Dave Smiglewski. The city retained the assistance of a legal firm to help draft a bill for the Legislature seeking an exemption from state building codes for the project, he said.
The bill is currently before the Legislature. It is modeled after legislation that allows the Amish in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to build homes that are not in conformance with state building codes. The legislation here would allow the state fire marshal to issue building-specific exemptions of the state fire code that conflict with a “recognized tribe’s religious beliefs, traditional building practices, or established teachings.”
When the cease and desist order arrived, Waziyatawin said she and the others who have been volunteering their time to this project contacted Upper Sioux Tribal Chairman Kevin Jensvold seeking the tribe’s support. The Upper Sioux Community was the first of the state’s 11 tribal communities to voice support for the legislation now introduced. She recently met with the Minnesota American Indian Affairs Council. She said the council was supportive as well: The council represents the state’s seven Anishinaabe reservations and four Dakota communities.
If built as hoped, the earthen lodges would be open to all Dakota and Indigenous people of the Oceti Šakowiŋ, or Seven Council Fires of the Dakota peoples. Waziyatawin noted that the Anishinaabe people in Minnesota may be interested in developing traditional earthen lodges as well, and support the legislation. . . .
One of the challenges the members of Makoce Ikikicupi faced at the start of their project 10 years ago was that of determining what a traditional lodge should be.
As far as anyone knows, the last of the traditional, Dakota earthen lodges existed along Lake Mille Lacs in the 1750s, according to Waziyatawin. She said they undertook their own research to develop the lodges.
One has since been built on the Lake Traverse reservation in South Dakota. She and her husband have been living there. They use wood for heat and cooking. There is no running water. It has no electricity, and its location is also outside of cell phone service. They have a composting toilet.
Waziyatawin said their plans for the earthen lodges near Granite Falls incorporate a few adaptations to meet the needs of today. Cement pads are being used to extend the longevity of the timbers being used. She pointed out that the earthen lodges built by her ancestors were likely replaced roughly every 15 years. The environmental resources needed are more scarce today, and the group wants to make these structures longer lasting. The central logs are tamarack.
The site has been connected to a rural water system to provide water at a single, central spigot. It was not possible to develop a well at the site, she explained.
Read the rest at the West Central Tribune.
Our romantic partner is a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of Dakota, one reason for living here within the historical boundaries of the Lake Traverse Reservation. It would be a pleasure to see the Dakota community in Minnesota finish its project. If you live in Minnesota, contact your legislator about supporting HF4229.
Photo: An earthen lodge built on the Lake Traverse reservation in South Dakota offers a comfortable environment. Members of Makoce Ikikcupi, a nonprofit devoted to Dakota land recovery, are seeking legislation to allow them to construct identical lodges on land just outside of Granite Falls. Photo submitted to the West Central Tribune.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
Comments