land acknowledgement.

Shine Brighter LLC, located in Lakeville, MN, acknowledges that it currently occupies Dakhóta land, specifically, Wahpekute land. Numbering under one thousand people, the Wahpekute were the smallest of the four Dakhóta tribes.

We also recognize that the state of Minnesota is the ancestral and present-day homeland of the Dakhóta and Ojibwe Native Nations. This land was obtained through violent acts of genocide, displacement, forced removal, and broken treaties.

Sovereign Native nations suffered horrific racial, social, and spiritual disparities through settler colonialism. Shine Brighter LLC knows the privileges and benefits that we have from past and present acts of violence, land theft, and attempted cultural genocide.

Acknowledgment alone does not resolve the systemic oppression, injustice, and historical trauma faced by Indigenous communities every day. Intentional action is also required.  

As a business, we are committed to reconciling these acts by contributing to the decolonization of institutional structures that promote injustices, inequities, and other forms of white supremacy and systemic racism through our offerings.

As a call to action, we invite you to learn more about the history of the Wahpekute, who occupied this land. Wahpekute Dakota and Lakeville.