Capitol events mark 150 years of Minnesota statehood
by The Associated Press
 
ST. PAUL -- Citizens, politicians and protesters marked Minnesota's 150th anniversary of statehood by gathering at the Capitol on Sunday to remember its past and ponder its future.

About 75 American Indians and supporters marched to the Capitol from Indian Mounds Park in St. Paul. They held banners with phrases such as ``take down the Fort,'' a reference to Fort Snelling, which they said played a key role in abuses of the original Minnesotans.

Others carried scaffolding with 38 nooses in remembrance of the 38 Dakota men executed in Mankato by order of President Lincoln in 1862.

In speeches launching Statehood Week, Governor Tim Pawlenty, as well as Senators Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar and other officials acknowledged the Dakota people. Pawlenty reminded the crowd he declared May American Indian Month in Minnesota.

On the Net:
A full list of sesquicentennial events can be found at the Minnesota State Historical Society's Web site: http://www.mn150years.org