Prairie Island Reservation, on the shores of the Mississippi and Vermillion Rivers, in southeastern Minnesota, approximately 534 acres of original reservation land and 2,774 acres of other trust land is located in the 100-year floodplain, including 1,295 acres of non-buildable land and open water.

Making treaties created obligations between Tribal Nations and the Untied States, but Tribal Nations existed as sovereigns before the United States and prior to European contract. A vibrant political landscape of Tribal Nations predates any "discovery" or "conquest" claimed by European nations.

Minnesota shares geography with 11 Tribal Nations, including 7 Ojibwe bands of Anishinaabe and 4 Mdewakanton Dakota communities. Before American expansion into the area there were conflicts between these indigenous groups but after American incursion they focused on a common threat to both cultures.

Tribal Nation flags can be found a few places in Washington, D.C.- on the fourth floor of the Department of Interior, the third floor at USDA- and now on the seventh floor of the Hart Senate Office Building. I think this is a first for a Minnesota Senator. Chi Miigwech @smith.senate.gov!

A drum keeper or carrier cares for the drum, often revered as having its own spirit and considered like a relative and not like personal property. Keepers and singers are usually male; according to one tradition, that’s because women can already connect to a second heartbeat when pregnant.

Most Americans don't learn about the injustices indigenous people suffered at the hands on the United States. How "manifest destiny" was accomplished through broken promises and stolen land. The US promised education, Healthcare, and permanent homelands, but failed to ever fulfill their obligation.