Mankato in Blue Earth County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
The First Mahkato Memorial Wacipi
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, July 30, 2013
1. The First Mahkato Memorial Wacipi Marker
This memorial is to honor those Dakota who created the First Mahkato Wacipi in 1972.
The Wacipi is to remember the thirty-eight Dakota executed in Mankato in 1862 and to create a spirit of reconciliation between the people of Mankato and the Dakota people.
The following Dakota people with members of the Mankato YMCA planned the first Wacipi:
Amos & Ione Owen • Wallace & Gertrude Wells, Sr. • David Larsen, Sr. • Norman & Edith Crooks • Amos & Rosemma Crooks • Hereditary Chief Ernest & Vernell Wabasha.
Co-founders: Bud Lawrence and Jim Buckley, Sr.
“I’d like to share that with the rest of the world. Maybe we can come upon something where we can all live as brothers.” —Amos Owen
Erected 2008.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Native Americans • Notable Places. A significant historical year for this entry is 1972.
Location. 44° 9.663′ N, 94° 2.433′ W. Marker is in Mankato, Minnesota, in Blue Earth County. Marker can be reached from Amos Owen Lane north of South Riverfront Drive (U.S. 169). It is in the Mahkato Land of Memories Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mankato MN 56001, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow
this page online
Regarding The First Mahkato Memorial Wacipi. Land of Memories park is located south of Mankato, Minnesota. on West Sibley Park Rd. off of Hwy 169. This land has been designated by the Blue Earth County officials as a permanent land area for the annual Mdewakanton Dakota Memorial Wacipi (Pow Wow) in memory of the 38 Dakota warriors who were executed on December 26, 1862 in the largest mass execution in US history in Mankato.
Beginning in 1972, every September, Native Americans from a number of tribes gather in Mankatos Land of Memories Park, where the Dakota people held many ceremonies and gatherings before the 1862 U.S./Dakota warriors who were executed in Mankato in 1862. The traditional memorial Pow-Wow, has been held in Mankato since 1972. It always takes place over the third weekend of September.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, July 30, 2013
2. The First Mahkato Memorial Wacipi Marker
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, July 30, 2013
3. The First Mahkato Memorial Wacipi Marker
December 2, 2008
4. The First Mahkato Memorial Wacipi Marker
December 2, 2008
5. Road Renamed Amos Owen Lane
The road to the Mahkato Land of Memories Park was named in memory of the late Amos Owen in 2008.
Bud Lawrence Archives
6. At the First Mahkato Memorial Wacipi in 1972
This photo was captioned: “The first powwow in Mankato took place in 1972, when more than 2,000 mostly Dakota Indians gathered for the event. It continues to this day, bringing whites and Indians together in a town that once symbolized division between the two.”
Photographed By Sheryl Dowlin, September 22, 2007
7. 2007 Mdewakanton Mahkato Memorial Wacipi Grand Entrance
Photographed By Sheryl Dowlin, September 22, 2007
8. 2007 Mdewakanton Mahkato Memorial Wacipi Grand Entrance
Photographed By Sheryl Dowlin, September 22, 2007
9. 2007 Mdewakanton Mahkato Memorial Wacipi
Click on an image for a larger, clearer picture.
Photographed By Sheryl Dowlin, September 22, 2007
10. 2007 Mdewakanton Mahkato Memorial Wacipi
Bud Lawrence Archives
11. Mahkato Education Day Project
The Mahkato Education Day takes place every year on the Friday of the Mdewakanton Mahkato Wacipi. Mankato Public School Third graders, teachers and parents are bused out to the pow wow grounds where they gather in small groups to listen and learn from Dakota and other tribal group members about their traditions, families and crafts. These third graders and their teachers are taking part in a Friendship Dance led by some of the Native American teachers and accompanied by the Maza Kute Singers and Drum Group from Santee Nebraska. The first Mahkato Education Day took place in September 1987, during the Year of Reconciliation in Minnesota between the Dakota and non-Dakota people. This education project has continued every year since its beginning in 1987.
Bud Lawrence Archives
12. The Mahkato Education Day
Mr. Barry Blackhawk (Ho-Chunk) teaches the Mankato 3rd graders, teachers and parents about the Ho-Chunk language.
This is one of 30 different learning stations staffed by Native American personnel. The project takes places in Land of
Memories Park near the pow wow grounds.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, July 30, 2013
13. Land of Memories Park Entrance
Credits. This page was last revised on October 21, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 7, 2008, by Sheryl and Bruce Dowlin of Boise, Idaho. This page has been viewed 3,241 times since then and 57 times this year. Last updated on March 31, 2009, by Larry feldman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 16, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. 4, 5. submitted on December 7, 2008, by Sheryl and Bruce Dowlin of Boise, Idaho. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. submitted on December 8, 2008, by Sheryl and Bruce Dowlin of Boise, Idaho. 13. submitted on August 16, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.
