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Yellow Bird: Tribe has made incredible journey
Monday, January 12, 2004
"The Dakota - the Spirit Lake people - had the misfortune to be in front of the first European settlers in what now is Minnesota. The U.S. government soon realized that when it appropriated 'Indian' lands for itself, the Native people didn't always move on.
This rugged group of people who were starved, displaced and their culture essentially excised, survived and are prospering.
Addictive alcohol was introduced to Native people when they were at their lowest. The need to find something to make them feel good made alcohol an elixir many couldn't resist. The tribe continues to make a tremendous effort to erase the scars of the past. The Spirit Lake tribe has a college, a prosperous (alcohol-free) casino, factories and its own police, clinic, tribal complex, museum and court system, to name a few. All of these are more than 80 percent managed by Native people."
Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: A story of triumph: The Spirit Lake Dakota
(The Grand Forks Herald 1/10)
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