By Rich Larson, News Director
Northfield High School students returned to distance learning today. Due to the sudden and rapid increases in Rice County in recent weeks, the school district, in conversation with both the Rice County and the State of Minnesota Health departments made the decision last week that the High School would move to distance learning today. The original plan had the middle school elementary and early learning students moving to distance learning on November 30. However, because the number of positive cases in Rice County is rising so quickly, that plan was accelerated and now those students will begin distance learning on Monday.
Northfield Schools Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said the district is much better prepared for this today than it was last spring, when the schools were forced into, as Hillmann put it, emergency distance learning. Since the end of the school year last May, district employees and faculty have been planning for this scenario almost as an inevitability. Still Hillmann said, while the district is in a good position for this, they are not in what he would call an “excellent” one:
“There will be things that people say that’s much better than what you did last spring, and I’m sure there will be some things where they say ‘Wow, I know you tried to make that better, but you still have some improvement to go there.’ And that is where we will be. We will continue to try to improve this model throughout.”
Hillmann said the plan is for schools distance learning to continue through winter break, after which time he and his staff will begin to re-evaluate the situation.
Last night Governor Walz announced that all youth sports activities would be suspended for the next four weeks. Because of the move to distance learning, the Northfield school district had already made that decision, but the move to distance learning means all extracurricular activities will be suspended:
“I know this makes a lot of people sad, and for a lot of other people, they are, frankly, really mad about it. I understand that. But this is absolutely the right decision based upon our public health circumstances at this time. I can assure you, as soon as we believe the conditions are right to get those activities started again, we know how important they are for kids, we will do so.”
While distance learning is far from an ideal situation, Hillmann said it is an absolute necessity, and one made for the health and well-being of students, faculty and staff. For now, Hillmann said, the best way to ensure this will not last longer than what is absolutely necessary is to follow the health and safety protocols to stop the spread of the Coronavirus:
“We are entering a very dire stage of the pandemic. And I beg people, I plead with people, to follow the public health protocols. Please stay home if you’re ill. Make sure that you maintain a physical six feet of distance. Make sure that you are washing your hands regularly, that you are wearing a face mask in public. This is a situation that is going to be very problematic for us in the coming weeks.”
Dr. Hillmann’s full conversation with Jeff Johnson can be found HERE.
City Council adopts Land Acknowledgement Statement
The City Council adopted a Land Acknowledgement Statement on Tuesday night, recognizing the indigenous people of the area where Northfield now stands and the injustices that they endured at the hands of European settlers and their descendants. Speaking with Jeff Johnson yesterday, City Administrator Ben Martig read the statement yesterday.
“We stand on the homelands of the Wahpekute and other Bands of the Dakota Nation. We honor with gratitude the people who have stewarded the land throughout the generations and their ongoing contributions to this region. We acknowledge the ongoing injustices that we have committed against the Dakota Nation, and we wish to interrupt this legacy, beginning with acts of healing and honest storytelling about this place.”
While the debate on the statement came down to the use of two simple words, the discussion highlighted fundamental differences between members of the council.
Councilor Brad Ness began the discussion by offering an amended version of the statement that changed the words “we have” to “have been.” The amended portion of the Statement would then have read “…we acknowledge the ongoing injustices that have been committed against the Dakota nation…” Ness said he offered the different language for the statement because in his opinion the original language was divisive. “If the statement as originally worded is passed,” he said, “it will divide the community and not unite it.”
Councilor Jessica Peterson-White, however, disagreed:
“Those two words are proposed to be changed for a very important reason. And that is because it is extremely painful for us as white people of European descent who have benefited, and still to this day benefit from the displacement and genocide of Native Americans.”
The debate lasted for nearly 45 minutes, with Councilor David Delong, Councilor Ness and Mayor Rhonda Pownell uncomfortable with the original language. Delong, in fact, was more than uncomfortable with the statement as originally written, he was seemingly offended by it:
“We, the city council, are telling the citizens of Northfield how they should think. We don’t want them to make up their own minds, [we are saying] ‘this is how you should think.’ Just like 150-60 years ago [when] the State of Minnesota said ‘this is how you should think towards Indians. That’s why we’re going to ban some of them and expel some of them from the state.’ Are we no better than our enlightened forefathers and mothers by trying to force issues upon people?”
While the debate was emotionally charged, it could, for the most part, be characterized as civil. In the end, Councilor Ness’ version was voted down. Councilor Clarice Grabau then moved for a vote on the statement as originally written. That version passed by a 4-3 margin.
The Land Acknowledgement Statement is a ceremonial proclamation. Administrator Martig said that it is not a legally binding document, nor it is not about money or reparations. It is more meant to act as an educational tool. “The practical implication,” he said, “is in understanding that our history begins before the European settlers came to this land.”
The Northfield City Council meeting from November 17 can be watched by clicking HERE.
