Mni Sota Makoce rose out of a grant-funded initiative to further develop understanding of Dakota history, particularly concepts of Dakota
land tenure. Funding was provided by the
Indian Land Tenure Foundation and the
Minnesota Historical Society. Gwen Westerman and Bruce White were co-chairs, with historian and TRCDC representative
Syd Beane (
Flandreau Santee Sioux) directing. The results of their study were published as
Mni Sota Makoce for the 150th anniversary of the
U.S.–Dakota War of 1862. Reviewer Gregory O. Gagnon (
Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians), professor of Indian Law at
Loyola University New Orleans who has published Dakota histories, said that prior to the publication of
Mni Sota Makoce "the best" books on Dakota history were
History of the Santee Sioux by
Roy Willard Meyer and
Kinsmen of Another Kind by
Gary Clayton Anderson, each published or revised in 1986 and 1984 respectively, and neither written by a Dakota person. In the Introduction to
Mni Sota Makoce, Westerman and White explain: "The answer to many of the problems presented by Dakota history as it has been written in the past is to try to achieve a more complete account, one that gives full appreciation to the Dakota oral tradition but also makes an effort to read between the lines of written records to search for Dakota points of view and Dakota meanings." Unlike previous Dakota history books, Westerman and White interpret a number of sources in combination, including what the authors call "nonverbal sources" such as archeological sites like
burial mounds and
petroglyphs. The book uses multiple disciplines including
geography,
anthropology, history,
law, and
literature. Kate Beane later praised cowriter White and contributor Vogel for their work with and prior to
Mni Sota Makoce that is "community centered" and "compassionate": "The lack of a personal agenda in their work is made obvious in that they share their findings with communities and work with Dakota people as collaborators and allies, providing an understanding of the need for a work ethic rooted in social justice when writing about those who have been historically oppressed." She contrasts it with previous Dakota histories which perpetuate stereotypes and settler-exclusive perspectives, criticizing
Kinsmen and
Walt Bachman’s
Northern Slave Black Dakota: The Life and Time of Joseph Godfrey specifically.
Kinsmen author Anderson does not believe Dakota were subject to
genocide, but allows the label
ethnic cleansing, which is contrary to dominant Dakota thought and
genocide studies analysis. Anderson later told Westerman during an event commemorating the war's 150th anniversary that he does not consider oral history in his practice, which is the vehicle for most Dakota-perspective history. Meyer's preface in
History of the Santee Sioux similarly explains "I have made no attempt to 'correct' the
received [written record] version of events in the nineteenth century by recourse to oral traditions as expressed by present-day Indians." In a later study for
Albany Government Law Review, Westerman writes of this dismissive view of oral history: "How is it that Dakota accounts and histories of the events leading to the war in 1862 are disregarded or discredited, or worse, put into competition with settler narratives as if there can be only one 'true' history? Often, the response is because they are not written down." Historian Bruce M. White was chosen by the TRCDC in 2007 for his "widely published and respected" writing on
Ojibwe history in Minnesota and treaty analysis. White's mother was a historian, and he grew up locally and abroad surrounded by historians, including those who worked with the Minnesota Historical Society. Growing up abroad, White said, taught him to be a respectful guest while living on the land of Minnesota's Native people. White had previously collaborated with the
Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community to protect the sacred area surrounding their community known as
Bdóte (explained in
Mni Sota Makoce) and served as
expert testimony on the hunting and fishing
treaty rights of the
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in a case that succeeded in the
Supreme Court of the United States. His scholarship and critique are acknowledged in
North Country: The Making of Minnesota by author
Mary Lethert Wingerd, a book published in 2010 resulting from a similar project to reexamine the popular narrative of Minnesota history. White is director of Turnstone Historical Research and received an Award of Merit from AASLH for his 2007 book
We Are at Home: Pictures of the Ojibwe People published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Mni Sota Makoce was his second AASLH award. He married Ann Regan in 1984, who became
editor-in-chief at MNHS Press. White's forthcoming book "They Would Not Be Moved" covers the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's fight for the US to honor their treaty rights. Gwen Westerman, director of English and humanities at
Mankato State University, is also a poet, artist, and widely published author. She was chosen by TRCDC founding board member Floyd Westerman (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, her uncle), to serve as the Dakota perspective in partnership with White. Her art quilt is part of the cover design of
Mni Sota Makoce. Westerman was inspired by author
Heid E. Erdrich, author and musician
Gordon Henry, painter
Jim Denomie, scholar
Amy Lonetree, Dakota culture holder and teacher
Phyllis Joyce Redday-Roberts, and astrophysicist
Neil Degrasse Tyson. Tyson especially inspires how Westerman relates Dakota star knowledge. == Reception ==