Under the tall prairie grass in far southwestern Minnesota lies a precious seam of dark red pipestone that, for thousands of years, Native Americans have quarried and carved into pipes essential to prayer and communication with the Creator. Only a dozen Dakota carvers remain in area, where Pipestone National Monument protects the quarries with the unique variety of stone. While tensions have flared periodically over how broadly to produce and share the rare artifacts, many today are focusing on how to pass on to future generations a challenging skillset that’s inextricably linked to spiritual practice.
Omaha is the mecca for college baseball, a proud local history dating to 1950. But this year’s College World Series, without fanfare, featured a more distant history – a star player directly descended from Big Elk, the last full-blooded chief of the Omaha tribe. The player, Cole Fontenelle of Texas Christian University, carries the prominent Omaha surname. “I knew I had some Native American background,” Cole said, “but I didn’t know which tribe. My grandpa knows the history.” Fontenelle says his grandfather is urging him to return back to Omaha when he graduates.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
