Upper Sioux Community honor Dakota veterans with memorial

In between the century old  Doncaster, and the newly established Upper Sioux Community (USC) cemetery, efforts are underway to create a place from which the spirit of Dakota veterans can watch over the deceased of both.
Though Native Americans do nothing in haste, when considering the level of sacrifice of the native peoples the forthcoming USC Veteran’s Memorial is revealed as long overdue.
In truth, throughout much of the  United State’s history, the Native American populations have fought bravely for the country even when it appeared the country was unwilling to do the same for them.
The era of the first world war provides a case in point. In the time of the Great War, up to one third of the Indian Nation was not recognized as a United States citizen, yet from 1914-1919, 20 percent of Native Americans fought alongside United States soldiers during the global conflict.
Most people just don’t realize the degree of Native American sacrifice for the United States. And many would be surprised to find that, according to the  Department of Defense, no culture has a higher percentage of its people currently serving in the military per capita.

Medicine Wheel
It was over two years ago that Navy Veteran and USC Board Member at Large, Scott Larsen, and 20 other local Dakota veterans began brainstorming, then voting on ideas for the USC Veteran’s Memorial.
This past winter,  the first phase of the three part project was completed, and stone pavers, serving as the site’s foundation, were laid in a circular fashion within the dirt as a representation of the Native American Medicine Wheel. 
In the middle of the wheel, a rectangle of ground remains bare.  And Larsen said that over time the patch of earth will come to form a burial mound.
The Navy veteran explained that Dakota remains are frequently unearthed during construction projects across the state, and that, unclaimed, they often end up at the Smithsonian or at Hamline University.  He said that as an alternative, the Upper Sioux would like to repatriate the Dakota remains that have been unearthed, so that they may be given a proper spiritual burial and a suitable resting place within the memorial.
Larsen said that Dakota bodies can be differentiated by the age of the remains, “any of the bodies two, three, four-thousand years ago, would have been Dakota,” he said. As, historically, they were the only tribe occupying the area during those periods.

Phase two and three
Well before the burial mound begins to take shape, the final two phases of the memorial will have been completed.
The second phase is scheduled to be completed by mid-November. It entails the placement of four flag poles that will sail the American, Upper Sioux, Minnesotan and POW flags at the back of the memorial, so to face the visitors of as they enter the site.
The flags will run skyward in front of an approximately six foot tall berm covered with four foot high native wildflowers. Flanking the berm, lining the entrance and surrounding the Medicine Wheel on the left and right are Arborvitae evergreens that will interlock and fully surround the memorial at a height of 15 feet once fully developed.
The final phase will involve the placement of statues toward the back of the Medicine Wheel foundation and possibly along the berm.
On the foundation, current plans involve seven memorial stones etched with the historical and war-time narratives of the Dakota.  Along the top of the berm, Larsen said that the community is considering placing statues of running horses.

A fitting occasion
Enveloped in evergreens and prairie flowers the memorial will provide for a personal experience that amongst the setting of Kentucky Blue Grass – like that used at Arlington Cemetery – will have a “very military” feel. 
Upon the completion of the project in the spring of next year, Larsen said that a ceremony will be held to mark the occasion. Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, Clark Dyrud, is reported to have already stated that he would “be honored” to travel from St. Paul to help open the event with a speech, and by participating in the parting of the ribbon.
 In the end, the Upper Sioux Community’s Veteran’s Memorial will be well worth the wait, beautiful and more than anything – deserved.