GRANITE FALLS, Minn. – Minnesota’s governor- and lieutenant governor-elect are committed to upholding tribal sovereignty and government-to-government relations with the state’s tribal communities, Lt. Gov.-elect Peggy Flanagan told an audience at a listening session Thursday, Nov. 29, at the Upper Sioux Community near Granite Falls.

Flanagan and Gov.-elect Tim Walz are holding listening sessions around the state to hear what attributes constituents want in state agency leaders and which issues they hope to see addressed.

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Upper Sioux Community members raised a variety of issues important to the state’s indigenous peoples, including statewide concerns about child care, education and health care.

Flanagan, an Anishinaabe and member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, emphasized that she and the governor-elect are paying attention to the needs of the state’s native people. She urged community members to hold them accountable, but also noted she cannot do the work alone. “I need a little backup at times, too,’’ she said.

There is a “dire need” for help in preserving the Dakota language, Upper Sioux Community member Elitta Gouge told Flanagan. Only two native speakers remain in the community, she said.

Gouge also urged the incoming administration to consider returning the Upper Sioux Agency State Park land to the tribe as a gesture because of all the land taken from the Dakota years ago.

Dallas Ross, also a community member, pointed out the social injustices community members have experienced through the years, including the depiction of Dakota people as savages. He suggested schools teach the true history of how Minnesota came to be, and “who paid the price to do it.”

Marisa Anywaush, vice chairwoman of the Upper Sioux Community, urged the new administration to address the violence inflicted against native women. Murder is the third leading cause of death for native women, and they are disproportionately victimized in the sex trade, she said.

“At best, we are invisible. At worst, we are disposable,’’ said Flanagan in voicing her support.

Health care and child care concerns were also voiced by attendees at the Upper Sioux session. Flanagan said that, as a mother, the need for child care is one of the most important issues to her, adding she is mindful of the costs of child care for young parents.

She called the time her 5-year-old left child care for kindergarten “the largest raise I received in all my life.”

She also cited the need for economic security for all Minnesotans and the importance of education.

Flanagan said she expects to play an active role as lieutenant governor, stating she and Walz are working as partners.

The session Thursday afternoon also included the presentation of a quilt to Flanagan by women in the Upper Sioux Community who had made it for her.

There was also some good-natured acknowledgment of the history between the Dakota and Anishinaabe peoples.

“I know I am not Dakota. Don’t hold that against me,’’ Flanagan said with a smile. “We are going to figure out how to work together.”