November 13, 2000 Mr. Lyle Rustad Dear Mr. Rustad: I write on behalf of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights to express our enthusiastic support for your foundation's proposed project, Reconciliation with History. The local history of the Dakota/Lakota nation is a story that must be examined by students in today's global society, and your documentary approach to this subject presents exciting potential for educators and students alike. As you know, Minnesota Advocates works to advance international human rights causes through fact-finding, advocacy and education. Since 1992, the Partners Program in Human Rights Education has advanced this mission through organizing and training teams of teachers and community volunteers, equipping them with the tools they need to implement human rights issues in K-12 classrooms. Human rights education exposes students to the fundamental principles that must be honored in order to preserve each person's basic human dignity, regardless of their cultural background, familial origin, economic usefulness, or political affiliation. Upon learning human rights concepts and their documentary history, students are able, and often eager, to examine these issues 'in their own backyard'. They rightly sense that studying and taking action on local concerns is one crucial way that they can make the rhetoric of international human rights a reality in their communities. The history of the Dakota/Lakota nation is the most local of Midwestern historical subjects, and it contains the most international of lessons to be learned and acted upon. It is especially relevant to today's students, who may struggle to understand why it is that far-away instances of forced migration, ethnic cleansing and genocide are of any importance to a sovereign, self-concerned nation like ours. After learning detailed, locally contextualized history of the Sioux-European settler conflict, and coming to an understanding of its impact on today's society, students will never be able to dismiss massive human rights violations as a problem that only concerns other countries. Of equal importance, your project also plans to explore much positive history, to recover the stories that define the greatness of Dakota/Lakota culture, its heroes and heroines. This will enable learners to truly appreciate what has been lost through human rights violations, and what might be recovered through the positive action of reconciliation. Mainstream classrooms are rarely able to cover the local history of the Sioux in great detail. Many Partners Program teachers have attempted to incorporate this history into their curriculum, and would welcome your materials into their classroom. Your project will vastly improve the quality and availability of resources focusing on the history of indigenous peoples, and open exciting new opportunities for involving and training teachers throughout Minnesota. The variety of multimedia resources you plan to generate, and their relevance to evolving graduation standards, are two factors that will attract teachers and students alike to your work. For these reasons, your project will have a definite and lasting impact on education in Minnesota. Please let me know if Minnesota Advocates can assist with any relevant aspect of your project as it develops. Best wishes, Deanna Gallagher Cc: Lynn M. Thomas, Executive Director |
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