Safely Into Minnesota

We cruised out of South Dakota and I could not have been more thrilled – right down to my sub-atomic level and shit. Warum? Eh, the state has a disgusting, oppressive, hypocritical, inhuman and bloody history which isn't all that far back in the rear view mirror either.

Even the filling stations have casinos in SD!

I mean, JAY-zus, we got into the damn state and, almost right away, drove over Sand Creek. Now then, it wasn’t the very same Sand Creek but still, ghosts were comin' outta the woodwork. And then there was Wounded Knee followed by St. Joseph’s Indian School.  It was and is one of those boarding schools originally started to kill the Indian and save the man, in the words of one “reformer.” Children were taken from their homes and sent far away to be indoctrinated – to be un-Indianized. They were forbidden to speak their own language(s), given new “American” names, clothes, and haircuts.

Lessee now, has the US grown/evolved since the Indian school days? Nope, not so’s ya’d notice.

An interesting tidbit about Wounded Knee:

One version of events claims that during the process of disarming the Lakota, a deaf tribesman named Black Coyote was reluctant to give up his rifle, claiming he had paid a lot for it. A scuffle over Black Coyote's rifle escalated and a shot was fired which resulted in the 7th Cavalry's opening fire indiscriminately from all sides, killing men, women, and children, as well as some of their own fellow soldiers. (source)

The cavalry ALSO killed their own fellow soldiers? How absolutely Trumpian.

So, the deaf kid didn’t understand that he was persona non grata and without basic human rights because of his skin color AND the fact that he and all of his ancestors were actually born and raised here. He didn’t get that the white newbies wanted the land and didn’t care how many folks they had to kill to get it.
I was happy to shake South Dakotan dust from my sweet silver Vans, I’m tellin’ YOU!

Coming over into Minnesota we saw two palette cleansers right off the bat. In Blue Earth, Minnesota, which we HAD to stop in for the name alone, we came across the Jolly Green Giant. Serious awesome abounded.

Back on the highway we saw a sign for The Spam Museum which, swear ta Bast, had the legend “not just a tasteless tourist trap.”

The newly built, 14,000 square foot museum features 9 SPAMtastic galleries with interactive games and photo opportunities. Admission is free to all visitors. (source)

Nine SPAMtastic galleries taking up 14,000 square feet? Interactive Spam games? //shudder// Tempting though this surely was, we simply couldn’t stop.

We pulled into Susan’s around one in the afternoon. Not only is this fabola Arts and Crafts style home comfortable as ALL fucking hell, Susan’s got a big beautiful cat! His name’s Friday and. yes, he’s friendly.