Saint Paul and Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi to Co-Manage Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 14, 2024

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Jennifer "JLor" Lor

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Saint Paul and Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi to Co-Manage Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary

The partnership reflects years of learning and planning between the city and Dakota community

SAINT PAUL- Today, Mayor Melvin Carter joined American Indian community members, tribal leaders, students, and partners at American Indian Magnet School to honor Indigenous Peoples' Day and announce a new co-management agreement between the City of Saint Paul and nonprofit partner Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi to steward the land at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary.

Through the agreement, Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi (meaning those who care for Wakáŋ Típi) will implement traditional Indigenous land management methods to care for the 27-acre Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, also known as Wakaŋ Típi, which has long been a Dakota sacred site. Their approach to this work not only restores land and ecosystems, but also the relationship between Indigenous people and these culturally important landscapes in the Twin Cities.

"Saint Paul is built on Dakota land," said Mayor Carter. "We are proud to finally restore access and stewardship to this sacred site."

The partnership reflects years of intentional learning alongside Dakota leaders by the Division of Design and Construction within the Department of Parks and Recreation to build better knowledge and understanding of the Dakota culturally significant landscapes and sacred sites in Saint Paul. The Cultural Landscape Study at nearby Indian Mounds Regional Park helped develop the concepts for the Wakáŋ Típi Center, a 7,500-square-foot cultural and environmental interpretive center at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary scheduled to open in 2025. The center will offer exhibits, cultural interpretation, and programs aimed to increase the understanding of the history and rich culture of the Dakota, as well as provide a home base for Dakota communities to reconnect and revive long-held practices.

"Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi plays a vital role in educating the East Side and Saint Paul on the Dakota experience," said Saint Paul City Councilmember Cheniqua Johnson, Ward 7. "This partnership honors Dakota cultural heritage and strengthens community ties, fostering a deeper understanding of our city's shared history."

The organization was awarded a $2.4 million Bush Community Innovation grant to lead this work. Recently, Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi was recommended for $669,000 in funding from the State of Minnesota's Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund for major restoration and environmental learning projects at the site.

"It has been the honor of a lifetime for me to be able to work toward this reclamation of access, stewardship, and relationship with this sacred place for our Dakota people," saidMaggie Lorenz, a Dakota and Anishinaabe resident of Saint Paul and Executive Director of Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi. "The work we are doing today is only possible because of the work and sacrifices of many before us. I see our work now as both a responsibility to those elders and ancestors as well as a responsibility to our children and grandchildren who will continue this healing work in the generations to come."

Wakáŋ Típi, the cave that sits on the eastern end of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, is a sacred site intimately connected to the Maka Paha (burial mounds) atop the bluff at Indian Mounds Regional Park. The two sites are part of the larger Bdote landscape, which is the area around the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers holding one of the creation stories of the Dakota people. Various bands of the Dakota Oyate and other Indigenous Nations have met at Wakáŋ Típi over generations to build and strengthen alliances.

"We are very excited to support the work Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi is doing to develop and test this new model of Indigenous urban land stewardship," said Mattie DeCarlo, Grantmaking Officer at the Bush Foundation. "The Foundation has a deep commitment to Native people and nations and supporting Native self-determination - this is one aspect of how that happens. This model of a co-management agreement is a first in Minnesota with the potential to shape the land management ecosystem regionally, allowing Native community members to reconnect to the land in a way that rebuilds relationship with the land and reclaims Indigenous decision-making power. This is an innovative approach that others in the field are eager to learn from and we look forward to seeing its impact over time."

ABOUT WAKÁŊ TÍPI AWÁŊYAŊKAPI

Formerly known as Lower Phalen Creek Project, Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi is a Native-led, East Side environmental stewardship nonprofit grounded in Dakota values. Founded in 1997 by community activists, their project area stretches from Lake Phalen to the Mississippi River and throughout the East Side River District. With a mission to engage people to honor and care for our natural places and the sacred sites and cultural value within them, their work is powered by a dedicated board, staff, and community of volunteers.

ABOUT THE BUSH FOUNDATION

The Bush Foundation works to inspire and support creative problem solving - within and across sectors - to make our region better for everyone. To do this, the Bush Foundation invests in great ideas and the people who power them in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the 23 Native nations that share this geography. The foundation works through open grantmaking programs to develop, test, and spread great ideas to make our region better for everyone and inspire, equip, and connect people to lead change effectively.

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Last Edited: October 13, 2024