Dan's adventure with the Mahkato Wacipi began eight years before he became a member. It was 1987 and Dan was in his senior year at the University and was looking for a way to express his spirituality. Previous run-ins with fundamentalist preachers had forced him to leave his home church and search for some place where a belief in evolution didn't mean excommunication from the church. He first tried his former congregation's sister church in Mankato, but after about four weeks was asked not to return because he was a student, and students "don't have enough money to donate to help support the congregation's needs."

At this time Dan and his roommate were both musicians performing on the weekends in pubs and ballrooms across Minnesota, Iowa, North & South Dakota and in Wisconsin. Christian music was not yet on the music scene in the upper-midwest, at least where you could earn a living performing it. Musicians were looked down upon because of the "hippy movement" of the 1960's and 70's and even though you may not have had long hair or did drugs, you were usually placed in the category of "white trash." Thus, finding a church to attend became a complex ordeal.

Dan and his roommate decided they would look around together to see if they could find a place to worship. The first church they tried was one of the town's first churches to video record their service and play it back on the local CCTV station. When they went to the church, they were asked to sit in the back, preferably in the balcony area, where they would not be seen by the cameras. The seats in the front of the church were reserved for the wealthier members of the community who then could be seen by all as faithful and pious when the show aired on local cable. This dog and pony show did not appeal to either of them so the search continued. Many of the churches that they visited didn't want minorities, hippies, people who were raised in a different faith or anyone who worked in the entertainment business; meaning bartenders, waitresses, bouncers, musicians, comedians and etc. in their church. Finally after about two-years of searching Dan's roommate found a progressive church that suited him well and they asked him to join in the new church band. Dan, however, grew up with a different type of religious background. He enjoyed his services to be more traditional, using the King James version of the bible over the New World Bible and some of the other bible rewrites that were becoming popular at this time. He also enjoyed it when the Christmas and Easter mass were performed in the traditional latin. Dan's search continued.

While Dan finished his undergraduate degree and went on to his masters degree he was introduced to many of the worlds religions and saw both the similarities and differences between them. As a part of University study he also looked at the religious and mythological beliefs of indigenous cultures throughout the world. As a part of this he was introduced to the book "The Sacred Pipe" by the Native American spiritual leader Black Elk. In the book Black Elk describes the seven rites of the sacred pipe. Further readings of the history of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota peoples inspired him to seek a more personal, one-to-one, relationship with God. At the age of nine, Dan had first become interested in Eastern Philosophy, and had started to practice meditation as a means of prayer. It was also around this time when he began to have extraordinary experiences and visions in his life. With this background Dan started to go out to the forest and look for places that he could pray and meditate in a fashion that mixed both the teaching of Black Elk and that of Eastern Philosophy. In 1991 Dan had an experience with a Golden Eagle at a place called 7-mile Creek near Mankato. In this experience he was told that one-day he would carry a pipe and he would need to vision quest. This soon became a guiding post for the search of his path through this life.

In 1994 Dan was working on a choral work for his music degree. He had become interested in the form of the mass and other sacred music from different cultures. He had learned of the largest mass execution in U.S. history that had occurred in Mankato in 1862 where 38 Native American's were hung for defending their territory and treaty rights. Dan wanted to write a non-traditional mass using Dakota as the language for the work, but he didn't speak Dakota. In fact, at that time, very few Dakota could even speak their traditional language. It, along with their sacred songs, had almost disappeared from the earth. Only a few elders could remember how the language was spoken. In order to find someone who could still speak Dakota, Dan went to his first meeting of the Mankato Pow-wow Association. After the meeting he talked extensively with Bud Lawrence who was one of the founders of the Mahkato Wacipi. Bud would become instrumental in Dan's spiritual journey from that day on. After telling Bud of his previous experiences, explained above, he decided to take Dan up to Prairie Island Indian Reservation where he could meet with spiritual leader Ray Owen. Bud still recalls how remarkable that first meeting went. Dan was accepted into the Black Horse Camp and was allowed to participate in the sweat lodge ceremony. This began his formal journey into Mdwakanton Dakota spiritual practices. (As an aside, Dan is still waiting for the translation into Dakota of the words for the mass he wanted to write :)

Dan's first joined the Mankato Pow-wow Association in 1995. In these early times the group was lead by members of the Casper family. Relations between the Mankato group and the Mdwakanton Dakota had been strained over the years. The whole idea of having to apply to the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 C (3) non-profit organization was not something Dakota people were accustom to doing, yet it had to be done if the Wacipi wanted to continue functioning. May Dakota saw this process as being a white man's way of controlling Native Americans and very few understood the consequences of not abiding by the tax-code laws. They were considered a sovereign nation so why should they need to file a tax form, or any other form for that matter, to the U.S. Government. This, along with some other intertribal politics, left a strong division between the white members of the Pow-wow Association and the rest of the native community. Dan's learning of Dakota spiritual traditions gave him an advantage in talking with the Dakota about why the Association had to do what it was doing. He became a liaison between the Dakota and the people of Mankato.

In the late 1990's through early 2002 relations between the Mankato Pow-wow Association and the Dakota became stronger. With the rise in tribal casinos many Dakota now began to understand how the IRS and tax-codes worked and people became less mistrusting of the ways of the white man. The Dakota began to take more control over the Mahkato Wacipi under the leadership of Leonard Wabasha, son of Dakota Chief Wabasha. More and more Native Americans began to take responsibility of the Mahkato Wacipi's daily needs. During this time Dan had released two pow-wow CDs that helped bridge the gap between traditional older Dakota members and the new pow-wow committee that was emerging. In the Mahkato Wacipi CD recorded in the year 2000 you will actually hear a song where the Amos Owen family commits to helping the new committee to keep the Wacipi active and healthy.

In 1997 Dan made his commitment to the people by accepting a chanupa (Sacred Pipe) and promised to carry it for the people of Mankato and the Mahkato Wacipi. In the following spring of 1998 he participated in the ceremonies at Bear Butte for the first time. Dan's relationship to that mountain is still strong even today. In 2001 he was adopted by the Eli Taylor family of Sioux Valley, Manitoba, Canada. Eli was an esteemed elder among the Dakota people who knew the old traditions well. He taught Dan many things about life and the universe and how to properly carry your commitment to the chanupa. Finally, in September of 2005, Dan fulfilled the his promise to the Golden Eagle and went to the hill for the first time, promising to return to that ceremony for four years. During this first four-year commitment, Ray Owen became a Sundance Leader and Prairie Island held there first Sundance since the mid-1800's. Dan has been a helper and participant in these Sun dances. Since then Dan has finished his four-year commitment and is being asked to commit to another four-years. In late August of 2009 Dan will continue his promise to the people.

The Mahkato Wacipi is still going strong today. Many members have served faithfully and some have passed their responsibilities on to the next generation. In 2010 the Wacipi will have had reached its 38th year. At that time there is to be a change in the way the Wacipi operates. The original promise to the 38 Native Americans who were hung in Mankato will have been completed and a new order will begin. Almost all of the current committee will retire after many years of service, for they too will have kept their promise to the creator and the people. A new way is emerging with the next generation making their commitments to the people and carrying on the tradition of the Mahkato Wacipi for years to come. "We release the souls of our dearly departed to the universe so they may continue their journey in the next life. To All of Our Relations."