Over the weekend, I traveled to Minneapolis to attend the wedding of a close friend and classmate. It was a glorious event which was a much-needed affirmation of life on weekend that was so shrouded in tragic global events of death. After the last reception was held on Sunday, I ventured over to downtown Minneapolis itself to become better acquainted with the history of Minneapolis. Before beginning my walk on a self-guided tour of Minneapolis Riverfront history, I treated myself to lunch at Owamni. As stated in its "Our Philosophy":
"At Owamni, we look at the world through a decolonized lens -- which to us, is simple. The Indigenous perspective on the history of America is to acknowledge the centuries of intense violence, dislocation, forced assimilation, segregation and cultural erasure that has happened to our cultures and communities.
"We reject the values that have been upheld by settler colonialism, such as the wanton destruction of environment, including mining, logging, and monoculture agriculture, all of which contribute to the enrichment of a select few while our beautiful Indigenous landscapes and the people who have traditionally live on them are continually abused.
"The goal of this restaurant is to showcase modern Indigenous foods. This means that we prioritize purchasing from Indigenous producers first, and build our seasonal menus to reflect region, culture, and specific Indigenous identities.
"We have cut out colonial ingredients such as beef, pork, chicken, dairy, wheat flour, and cane sugar, instead highlighting the true agricultural products of North America, such as corns, beans, squashes, wild game, birds, fish and Native plants.
"This approach offers a different story of American cooking than the Eurocentric one that is traditionally touted -- instead celebrating the amazing Indigenous diversity of Turtle Island
"We hope you enjoy it!"
*****
I had the Superior White Fish Cakes along with some Blue Corn Tortillas and a Housemade Birch Beer soda.
And I enjoyed it immensely.
*****
The next day, I did visit the George Floyd Square -- the city street site where George Floyd was murdered in 2020. It was a disturbing experience on many levels. I suspect I will write about that later.
After that I drove to the historic Hiawatha Golf Course
and played nine holes of golf in tribute to all the black golf pioneers who came before.
After my excursions on the south side of Minneapolis, I ended my Minneapolis excursions by revisiting the Mall of America. On Saturday, I had visited the first two floors before attending the wedding. On Monday, I ventured up to the third and fourth floors of the massive mall. On the third floor, I ventured into a Minneapolis novelty -- Ebisu, a Japanese grocery store. As soon as I did enter, I found myself enraptured by a song that was playing in the store. I was so enchanted, I actually asked one of the clerks to tell me who was singing the song. The clerk did not know but he graciously went to the back room of the store and returned with the name Yoasobi. He printed it out for me in both English and Japanese.
When I got home, I looked up Yoasobi on Wikipedia and learned that the song that I was enchanted by has enchanted millions of others as well. In a world that seems bent upon hatred and warfare, maybe a little Yoasobi is what we all need.
So here is the Yoasobi song
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
October 12, 2023
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