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Recognizing the historic agreement between the City of Saint Paul and Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi to co-manage Bruce Vento Sanctuary and honoring Indigenous Peoples Day.
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WHEREAS the Saint Paul City Council and City of Saint Paul acknowledges it is built upon the unceded traditional homelands of the Dakota Oyate, who have known this area as Imnižaska (White Bluffs) from time immemorial; and
WHEREAS within the current borders of the City of Saint Paul lie numerous culturally significant landscapes and sacred sites, including Bdote (aka, the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers), Wakaŋ Típi (aka, Carver's Cave), Maka Paha (burial mounds at Indian Mounds Regional Park), Kaposia Village (the land between Pigs Eye and Downtown St Paul), and Còhokáŋ Taŋka (Pigs Eye Lake); and
WHEREAS the City of Saint Paul’s recent efforts and partnerships with Tribal Nations and local American Indian leaders and organizations have been centered on the protection and restoration of these culturally significant landscapes, ensuring American Indian Peoples have access to these sites for continuity of cultural lifeways, and supporting the restoration of traditional lifeways to benefit the well-being of the urban American Indian community; and
WHEREAS on October 14th, 2024 we come together as a city to celebrate Indigenous People’s day, a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors Indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures; and
WHEREAS the Saint Paul City Council recognizes that verbal apologies for the impacts of colonization and genocide and making statements regarding reconciliation is not enough, but we must find ways to put these words into action.
WHEREAS the City of Saint Paul and the Saint Paul City Council is committed to continued partnership with relevant Tribal Nations and the Saint Paul American Indian community to work towards community designed solutions that address disparities in social wellbeing, while uplifting and acknowledging the rich contributions of all Indigenous Peoples in our City; and
WHEREAS the City of Saint Paul entered into a development and long-term lease agreement with Wakáŋ Tipi Awanyankapi to design, construct, and program the Wakaŋ Tipi Center at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary as a space provide authentic ecological, cultural and historical Dakota interpretation of this cultural landscape, offer environmental education through an authentically Indigenous lens, create space for cultural connections and healing through the arts and nature, and serve as a bold leader in Indigenous, place-based environmental and cultural work in urban settings; and
WHEREAS the Saint Paul City council recognizes the integral work of Ward 7 resident and Executive Director Maggie Lorenz for her steadfastness in not only gathering community, providing hope and vision, but also bringing this agreement to this moment; and therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Saint Paul and Wakáŋ Tipi Awanyankapi will now enter into a co-management agreement to perform and collaborate on restoration, stewardship, and site management work within the 27-acre property currently known as Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Saint Paul City Council joins Mayor Melvin Carter in declaring Oct 14, 2024 as Indigenous Peoples Day in the City of Saint Paul as a celebration of Indigenous excellence, resilience, and courage, but also a call for truth telling and action that reconcile the genocidal policies of the past and present, recognize tribal sovereignty; and rebuilding trust.