It was fitting that the raising of flags from each of Minnesota’s 11 tribal nations came on an unseasonably cool and blustery day in St. Paul.
As each flag was raised on Friday, six on one side of the capitol’s lower mall and five on the other, gusts of winds took hold of each banner and unfurled them to show the emblems and colors of the proud natives.
“What a glorious sight,” said Gov. Walz, speaking in front of several hundred people, many from their tribal lands.
“Dakota flags are flying over Dakota land today in Minnesota,” he said, accompanied by applause and cheers.
The idea of installing the flags on their own plaza on the capitol grounds honors the sovereignty of the tribal nations, with the goal of affirming a respectful relationship between state and tribal governments.
The ceremony was accompanied by prayers in native tongue and trial anthems.
“As I was driving here this morning, I was thinking about how much things have changed over the years," said Ojibwe elder Sharon Day. “Our elders, our grandmothers, our grandfathers, our ancestors who persevered through so much, so much that we could be standing here today. So much has changed, and yet, there’s still so much to change.”
It was an especially moving ceremony for Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, herself an Ojibwe.
“These flags are not just symbols, they are sovereign nations,” she said. “It is a reminder that the strength of Minnesota comes from its full story, including the original stewards of this land.”
Governor Walz was accompanied by Collin and Sophie Hortman, whose late mother Melissa was Minnesota House speaker was solidly behind the flag project.
Rep. Hortman and her husband were shot and killed June 14 in what authorities are calling a political assassination.
The ceremony was paused for a moment a silence for the Hortmans at the end of what Walz called a “summer of sorrow in Minnesota,” pointing out flags on the capitol were at half-staff to honor the memory of two children killed during last week’s mass shooting at Annunciation church in south Minneapolis.
The Plaza includes each tribal nation’s flag, plantings selected by each tribe at the base of each flagpole, and Minnesota-sourced granite pavers and benches.
The project is part of a comprehensive plan for redevelopment of the capitol grounds, an area many call “Minnesota’s front lawn.”