St. Paul leaders are set to co-manage the former Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary with Indigenous community members.
The 29 acre site now known as Wakáŋ Típi will now be cared for using traditional Indigenous land management methods carried out by Dakota community leaders.
“We have managed it as a city park, but it is originally historic, sacred Dakota land and we’ve been working with them over the past several months to determine how we restore it,” explains St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.
He says because St. Paul is built on Dakota land, he hopes the new partnership will begin to foster a deeper understanding of the city’s history that includes Indigenous peoples.
Carter says the partnership is historic, and it gives stewardship rights over a local nature sanctuary to the original owners. He says there is a longstanding relationship between the St. Paul Department of Parks and Recreation’s Division of …