The event is free and open to the public.
Miller is a Vietnam veteran, an enrolled member of Cheyenne River and a descendent of the Dakotas displaced after the mass hanging in Mankato, Minn. of 38 Dakota men. In Spring 2005, he “dreamt of a series of horseback rides that would bring the Dakota people together, raise awareness to the significant impact still with us from the mass hanging and the surrounding events, and to bring reconciliation among all people of the region so that we may move forward and live in a good way”. Four years later, Miller and a group of riders decided to retrace the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback across the great plains to arrive at the hanging site in Mankato on the anniversary of the execution. This is the story of their journey- the blizzards they endured, the communities that housed and fed them along the way, and the dark history they are beginning to wipe away. For a trailer of the film, logon to http://www.smoothfeather.org/dakota38/
Miller recently returned from a presentation in Berkeley, Calif. with Silas Hagerty, producer of the documentary, and found participants receptive and eager to be proactive. He also had the opportunity to go into San Quentin prison, show the film to the Native inmates and to conduct a pipe ceremony with them. Miller has many stories to share from these travels and the rides.
The DSU Office of Diversity Services invites you to the Science Center auditorium, Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 7 pm to witness and participate in a powerful experience promoting understanding and healing!
For more information, please contact the Office of Diversity Services at (605) 256-7347 or jennifer.aranda@dsu.edu