We are all related: A Virtual Presentation with Diane Wilson

Saturday, September 24, 2022 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM


What does it mean for each of us to be a good relative?  When faced with the overwhelming situation of the climate crisis or food scarcity in our area, it can be immobilizing.  But there is always one step we can take, in the belief that we do have an impact.  With reflection and intentionality, we can undertake activity and activism from a spiritually rooted place. 

Join us on Saturday, September 24 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm as Diane Wilson, award-winning author of the 2021 novel, The Seed Keeper, speaks on the relationship between humans, other animals, trees, plants, and all Earth elements through the indigenous principle, "we are all related."  

Wilson's novel follows a Dakhóta family’s struggle to preserve their way of life as they remember their original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to their ancestors.

Because Wilson's presentation will be virtual, you are invited to participate ONLINE or you can join us IN-PERSON ONSITE and watch in community, with lunch served at 12:30 pm.

"We are all related: A Virtual Presentation with Diane Wilson" from 2-4 pm on September 24th follows the morning event, "Before there was Rolling Ridge: Land Acknowledgement (and island naming)" from 10-12:30 pm.  Paul and Denise Pouliot, chief speakers of the Cowasuck , will be the primary presenters, with Brian Howard of the Historical Society and Lawrence Jay of Rolling Ridge also featured in this ONSITE event at our Point of Pines outdoor chapel. Click here for more information.  

Along with the Land Acknowledgement and historical presentations about the land, Rolling Ridge will also announce the new name for the island off our peninsula in Lake Cochichewick. ("Cochichewick" is Algonquian for "place of the great cascades"). 

For indigenous people, the tradition of naming is rooted in the description or purpose of the land that emerges from the community. As part of our community, you are invited to help us select a name for our island. The two options for voting come from Paul and Denise Pouliot and are in the Algonquian dialect.  CHOICES ARE:

  • Bizewimenahan = A “Floating Island or Useless Island”
  • Menahaniz = “Little Island”

Vote when registering for this event. The new name for the island will be announced during our "Before there was Rolling Ridge" morning event on Saturday, September 24th and will become part of our intent to retell our history honestly and to honor the indigenous peoples still connected to this land.

You are encouraged to spend September 24th at Rolling Ridge as well as Sunday, September 25th with our Pray and Paddle event on Braiding Sweet Grass as we lean into our indigenous history and celebrate that "we are all related."

About the leader(s)

Diane Wilson

Diane Wilson (Dakota) is a writer, speaker, and educator, who has published two award-winning books, a middle-grade biography, as well as essays in numerous publications. Her new novel: The Seed Keeper, was released by Milkweed Editions in March, 2021.

Wilson’s memoir, Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past (Borealis Books) won a 2006 Minnesota Book Award and was selected for the 2012 One Minneapolis One Read program. Her 2011 nonfiction book, Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life (Borealis Books) was awarded the 2012 Barbara Sudler Award from History Colorado. Her essays have appeared in many anthologies, including: Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations (2021); We Are Meant to Rise (2021); and A Good Time for the Truth (2016).

Wilson has received a 2013 Bush Foundation Fellowship as well as awards from Minnesota State Arts Board, the Jerome Foundation, and the East Central Regional Arts Council. In 2018, she was awarded a 50 Over 50 Award from Pollen/Midwest.

Wilson is the former Executive Director for the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance, a national coalition of tribes and organizations working to create sovereign food systems for Native people.

Wilson is a Mdewakanton descendent, enrolled on the Rosebud Reservation.

Awards
  • Minnesota Book Award
  • 50 over 50 Award from Pollen/Midwest
  • Barbara Studler Award from History Colorado
  • One Minneapolis One Read

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