Dakhóta Language Scholars Win Ramsey County Historical Society’s 2024 Virginia B. Kunz Award
Ramsey County Historical Society (RCHS) recently presented seven Dakhóta-language scholars with the Virginia B. Kunz Award for their article, “Dakhóta Iápi: A Brief History in Three Parts .” It ran in the society’s Fall 2023 issue of Ramsey County History magazine. RCHS President Chad Roberts made the presentation to a team of current and former University of Minnesota students and researchers, including Deacon DeBoer, Eileen Bass, Justis Brokenrope, Ava Grace, and Heather Menefee; their instructor Šišókaduta; and Dr. Rev. Clifford Canku, a first-language Dakhóta speaker and teacher, at a luncheon at The Landmark Center on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
The recognition includes a plaque honoring the team’s work and a $200 cash prize for each team member made possible by generous memorial gifts to the society in honor of Virginia Brainard Kunz, the first editor of the organization’s award-winning quarterly publication. The award is given every two years to the author or authors of the best article that meets three criteria:
- The article has a new, more complete, or corrective contribution to material focused on the history of Ramsey County, Minnesota;
- The article has an effective balance of appropriate historical research, documentation, and accessibility to a broad audience of readers; and
- The article is written in an engaging style and includes appropriate visual materials such as photos, maps, diagrams, or other illustrations that encourage the reading of local or regional history.
The team’s work begins with an early history of the Dakhóta language following settler colonization and extending through the boarding school era. It continues with a collaborative segment highlighting current language initiatives and the positive effects these have for both the Dakhóta and non-Indigenous communities in establishing themselves in Minnesota history. It culminates with words of encouragement to Dakhóta language teachers and second-language learners from Dr. Rev. Canku.
A panel of three independent community judges—Maureen Acosta, retired director of corporate and foundation relations at Metropolitan State University; Gabe Horner, a writer, researcher, and policy data analyst; and Rekhet Si-Asar, retired from Minneapolis Public Schools and cofounder of In Black Ink, a local publishing initiative—selected the winning work from twenty-two articles that published in the magazine in 2022 and 2023. The judges stated, “The Fall 2023 issue is a masterpiece of corrective history. It’s well-documented, and has excellent visuals, as well as twenty-first century technology. . . including QR codes for a new Dakhóta dictionary app. We liked the student work and involvement and that their voices came through. The inclusion of the Dakhóta language in the text allows people to see it, and, when posted online, they can hear it.”
The judges also honored another writer—Nieeta L. Presley—with a Virginia B. Kunz honorable mention for her article, Traveling Without Aggravation: How Victor H. Green Changed Travel for Black Americans: Green Book Locations in the Historic Rondo Community (1940-1956).” The retired director of the Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation and a Rondo community leader researched the story of Victor H. Green’s Green Book, and then zeroed in on nine businesses in St. Paul that advertised in the publication.
Between 1940 and 1956, these business owners, as well as private homeowners, invited weary and wary travelers to St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood. Presley scoured city directories and old newspaper articles and advertisements to uncover the histories of these venues where Black travelers were always welcome. Said the judges: “This in-depth and expansive story of resilience celebrated community taking care of community.” Presley received a plaque of recognition and a gift certificate to Subtext Books.
Other award nominees included Kristina Her for her “Hmong Foodways in Ramsey County” article (Summer 2023) and Frank M. White for From a Star on the Ball Diamond to a Star at the Minnesota State Capitol: Billy Williams (Spring 2023).
In addition to the Kunz Award, RCHS presented its second Volunteer Honor to editorial board member Steve Trimble, who has also won two Virginia B. Kunz Awards—one in 2008; another in 2014. President Roberts presented a plaque and gift certificate for Trimble’s volunteer work over twenty-one years as a member of the organization’s editorial board. In that time, Trimble has penned seventeen articles for Ramsey County History magazine, written book reviews, worked on two podcasts, supplied hundreds of history blurbs for RCHS social media channels, and suggested countless creative article ideas. “RCHS is grateful that Steve has been part of our history and has selflessly contributed so much to our publishing program,” Roberts said.
The luncheon program for about thirty-five guests associated with RCHS publishing also highlighted Ramsey County Historical Society’s seventy-fifth birthday this year and noted that its publication program has been running for six decades. The society will celebrate these anniversaries throughout 2024 and into the first quarter of 2025.
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FOR MEDIA INFORMATION or IMAGES
For more complete biographical information on these authors and judges, to learn more about the RCHS Volunteer Honor and the Virginia B. Kunz Award, or to purchase or access issues featuring winning articles, please visit https://rchs.com/publishing/ or contact the Ramsey County Historical Society, 75 West Fifth Street #323, St. Paul, MN 55102; (651) 222-0701, ext. 5 or editor@rchs.com.
The Ramsey County Historical Society offers public programming for youth and adults through Gibbs Farm: Pathways to Dakota & Pioneer Life and its History Revealed programs; creates and curates exhibitions of historical significance at the Landmark Center and other venues; provides documents and research opportunities at its Mary Livingston Griggs & Mary Griggs Burke Research Center, also in the Landmark Center; manages a large collection of historical artifacts, photos, and documents; and publishes an award-winning quarterly magazine, books, and other publications on the history, people, and stories of Ramsey County.