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Water Works artist Inkpa Mani resigned amid charges of cultural appropriation
A prestigious public art project meant for a downtown Minneapolis park is in limbo after the artist chosen for the job resigned amid accusations of cultural appropriation. The situation echoes many instances of Native-presenting people called out to prove their identities across Indian Country, raising questions about belonging — who is permitted to practice Native arts and who gets to decide. Inkpa Mani, a 25-year-old Dakota-speaking artist who lives in Wheaton, Minn., was selected in March by an independent panel of community members to create a stone sculpture overlooking St. Anthony Falls. Opened in 2021, the Water Works park area is sacred to the Dakota, who call it Owámniyomni. Mani…
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As Gorbachev resigned, AP photographer snapped historic shot
It was a landmark celebration that ended an era: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s resignation 30 a long time in the past finalized the USSR’s demise. The AP’s Moscow picture chief at the time, Liu Heung Shing, was the only international photographer who captured the pivotal minute on Dec. 25, 1991. In the slide of 1991, the Soviet Union was dashing up promptly to its dissolution. On Dec. 8, 1991, the leaders of the a few Slavic Soviet republics fulfilled to declare that the Soviet Union was no a lot more, and to make the new Commonwealth of Unbiased States, which was joined by eight other republics two months later. ___…