As the Winona State University KEAP Council Coordinators, we strongly voice our support for Turtle Island Student Organization’s efforts to break ground on the indigenous learning garden project here at Winona State. It is our understanding that this project will contextualize James Earle Fraser’s artwork “The End of the Trail,” which currently resides in the center of our campus, and portrays an inherently problematic understanding of Native American history. This garden has been discussed for many years, and we feel it is time to finally bring it to fruition. It is high time we stop perpetuating centuries-old stereotypes about Native Americans and live up to our mission statement as a university to educate the campus community on the history and current lives of Native peoples.

As KEAP Council coordinators, it is our mission to critically engage students, faculty, staff, administrators, and other allies to create and sustain a campus culture in which diverse persons, organizations, and groups can learn and develop to their greatest potential and participate in society to their maximum ability. It is also our mission to advocate for students and ensure that our campus welcomes and celebrates the diversity of our student body in the most humanizing and respectful way.

We write this letter to demonstrate our full support for the indigenous learning garden project as proposed, as we feel it is only right to place this garden where the artwork currently stands or in front of Minné rather than stowing it away in a less visible location on campus. We also write this letter to press for work on the garden to finally begin.

Sincerely,

Nasro Abbas and Alexis Salem

KEAP Council Coordinators