ST. PAUL, MN-- Citizens, politicians and protesters marked

Minnesota's 150th anniversary of statehood by gathering at the

Capitol on Sunday to remember its past and ponder its future.

About 75 American Indians and supporters marched to the Capitol

from Indian Mounds Park in St. Paul. They held banners with phrases

such as "take down the Fort," a reference to Fort Snelling, which

they said played a key role in abuses of the original Minnesotans.

Others carried scaffolding with 38 nooses in remembrance of the

38 Dakota men executed in Mankato by order of President Lincoln in

1862.

In speeches launching Statehood Week, Governor Tim Pawlenty, as

well as Senators Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar and other officials

acknowledged the Dakota people. Pawlenty reminded the crowd he

declared May American Indian Month in Minnesota.

On the Net:

A full list of sesquicentennial events can be found at the

Minnesota State Historical Society's Web site: