Reconciliation riders meet with City of Mankato

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - Members and advocates of the Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse ride met with Mankato City staff to discuss the city’s role and responsibility in support of the ride.

The goal was to continue to develop the partnership between the healing ride and the city. Native Elder Wilfred Keeble talked about the spiritual nature of the ride.

“What we’re trying to get across is that the ride is a ceremony, as opposed to the city billing it as a special event. We’re still trying to make them understand what a native ceremony is. Our ceremonies our prayer.”

There is some disagreement between the language of a special event and a ceremony. The riders maintain that the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) grants them the right to practice their beliefs without hindrance. Also, the costs of shutting down Riverfront Drive and cleaning up after the horses have increased over the years.

According to the Dakota advocates, for the 2017 - 2018 season, six hundred fifty dollars was paid by New Creation World Church, but no data was available pertaining to what was covered. The following year the same amount was paid by Margy Johnson. The group cold not find records of payments or invoices from 2020 to 2023. In 2024 the cost was thirteen hundred fifty dollars, which included seven hundred dollars to secure the Frank Lloyd Roberts Pavilion which was paid by Sara Brave Heart, and a five hundred dollar Neighborhood engagement Grant was awarded to offset the cost. In March of 2025 a two thousand dollar Special Event Grant was awarded, and the estimated cost was $2,282.24. Labor is a large factor for the city services which include a law enforcement escort, street closure, street sweeping to clean up after the horses, snow removal, pavilion rental, and a port-a-potty.

Wilfred continues to explain how he believes AIRFA pertains to the Healing Ride in Mankato.

“With this act, congressional act, we can practice, do things without any hindrance.”

City procedures are in place to maintain public safety and not infringe on anyone’s rights, but the terminology is a sticking point between the parties.

“You’re restricted here. You can’t set up a teepee here, but you can’t build a fire here. So we need to get you guys a parking permit. You guys need to buy a parking permit. You guys need to... Well, those are hindrances. but they don’t see it. It’s a hindrance because it’s a ceremony. They’re saying we don’t understand it.”

The city said they had a good meeting and look forward to additional meetings and talks to work with the riders. Wilfred is also excited about continuing the conversation.

“So hopefully we can come to some kind of agreement where it’s gonna work and benefit both entities. That’s what partnership is. It’s in the works. We got a good response from them. So yeah, it’s hopeful.”

Also in attendance were members of an organization called Mahkato Okawitaya which is a Dakota-led network that partners with non indigenous people to promote education and healing while advocating for the Dakota peoples.

Here is their purpose statement:

The purpose of Mahkato Okawitaya is to educate, restore, and balance a Dakota-led community in partnership with non-Indigenous settler descendants that is rooted in Dakota values, culture, and traditions.

The organization seeks to:

1. Build on 60+ years of the partnership efforts that promote truth, healing, reconciliation, and reunification among the descendants of the Dakota nation and non-Indigenous settler descendants on the ancestral Dakota homelands.

2. Create this Dakota-led network in partnership with non-Indigenous settler descendants that fosters connections, builds relationships, explores questions, and discovers the truth, strengths, and opportunities in the work of reconciliation and healing.

3. Center Dakota voices in organizing events and initiatives that encourage dialogue, provide cultural education, and develop collaborative actions to promote truth, healing, and reconciliation.

4. Establish places for Dakota people to return, to gather, and to reconnect with ancestral ways and homelands. Provide community support through stories, traditional ceremonies, healing practices, and advocacy.

5. Educate people on what it means to be Dakota. Support the next generation by being good relatives, reclaiming Dakota identity, and promoting intergenerational healing and learning to regenerate people, culture, and Uŋčí Maká (Mother Earth).

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