St. Paul renames sacred Dakota sites Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, Indian Mounds Regional Park
Effective immediately, the city will refer to the area of Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary and Indian Mounds Regional Park as Imniżaska, while the two sites will be individually referred to as Waḳaƞ Ṭípi and Wic̣aḣapi.
A press release from the city writes, "this action reflects the city's commitment to preserving indigenous heritage and strengthening its long-standing partnership with Dakota leaders and communities."
"We exist, first and foremost, because of our Dakota community, and we stand here today as a promise to honor that legacy and protect these ancestral homelands," said St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. "Our facilitation of these place name changes is more than a ceremonial renaming—it's an affirmation of our shared values and a promise to walk forward together with respect and commitment to restoring truth."
"These names were never lost to the Dakota people," said Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan. "Indigenous place names have always been known. What we're doing now is lifting up the language, the stories, and the sacred connections to this land so that everyone else can know them too."
The city said in a press release that this renaming is "the result of years of intentional relationship building between St. Paul Parks and Recreation and the four Tribal Historic Preservation Offices of the Prairie Island Indian Community, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Lower Sioux Indian Community, and Upper Sioux Community.
Officials say renaming was Dakota-led, but the process was facilitated by the Executive Director of Waḳaƞ Ṭípi Awaƞyaƞkapi Maggie Lorenz.
"I remember coming to Indian Mounds when I was little with my cousins, and I remember exploring the caves in Saint Paul and listening to my grandma, mom, and aunties tell me that these were our sacred places," Lorenz said. "Being able to support the Tribes in this effort to not only rename but also redesignate these places from parks to a cultural landscape is a huge step toward bringing broader community respect and awareness to these culturally important places in Saint Paul."
Parks' Division of Design and Construction say it will implement the name change across all sites with physical signage and plan to install that signage within the coming months.
Officials also say the signage for Waḳaƞ Ṭípi will include variations of the place name to honor the diversity of Dakota ways of knowing and speaking.
"Restoring the Dakota names of these sacred sites within the Saint Paul park system is a meaningful and necessary step in recognizing the deep and enduring connection between the Dakota people and this land," added Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez. "We honor this moment while reaffirming our commitment to continued partnership with Tribal Nations and the Saint Paul American Indian community to ensure our city's natural spaces reflect and respect Dakota heritage."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
15 minutes ago
- Forbes
About Last Week: What Having A Meltdown Says About You As A Leader
When professional response, much like a frayed rope, is about to break. In a sea of quiet leadership mantras and emotionless, direct communications, there exists another leadership style. One that is hyper authentic, effective and, yes, professional. Leaders that deeply feel also have seats at the table and are often more connected, more open and far more collaborative than those at the table simply checking boxes. A shared purpose and sense of belonging are great ways to empower team members, engage in constructive competition, and push outcomes from 'meh' to 'WOW!' What might an occasional meltdown say about you? You are human It is okay to have moments. It is okay to lean into yourself. It is okay to free your mind and to release gaps in accountability, frustrating interactions and even misinterpreted slights. Choosing the silent path forward, 'might seem like a good way to avoid conflict and emotional pain, but it usually comes back to bite you in the end,' shares Crystal Raypole in Healthline. It doesn't do anyone any favors to suppress response. While the workplace does not need toddler-like tantrums at every turn, in positions of leadership it is critical to model realistic response and prove that no one is immune from frustration and those frustrations can absolutely overwhelm any human being. At times, we all could use help pushing through that noise. And sometimes pushing through requires noise. You care Emotions are integral in leadership. In fact, they can inspire others to drop set their masks aside and feel comfortable sharing their true selves. Not caring results in status quo, low-to-no creativity and mostly, as the Talking Heads famously mused, 'same as it ever was.' For optimum effectiveness, no matter the delivery tone, we want engaged, empathetic and authentic colleagues and leaders. You let it out If you don't allow yourself to let feelings come out, where do they go? The answers are endless, however it's rarely a good thing to lock down emotions and empower them to fester. Much like resentment, when not released, feelings grow exponentially. The last person you should allow to hold you back is you. Why many work to remain emotionless Is it better to offer your authentic self or a robotic shell to those in the workplace? When you fear the judgment of others, you cement your true self to a back burner, constantly needing to calculate each ensuing answer, conversation and opinion. Fearing judgment imprisons a leader to accept boundaries as a rule of self. Blindly sticking within bounds stifles creative thinking, innovation and improvement. "Some people may believe that showing negative emotions can lead to others seeing them as weak.' According to Medical News Today, 'people may hide feelings to avoid showing weakness or vulnerability to others. Some people may believe that showing negative emotions can lead to others seeing them as weak.' Having recently displayed a bit of an emotional meltdown (understatement of 2025), I asked the lucky recipient of my tirade, 'Does this make me come across as weak?' I simply had to ask. The response I received was, 'No! Quite the opposite!' He went on to detail how hiding feelings, especially when a boiling point has been reached, is unhealthy for all involved. It's safer to present a stoic persona in the office. But is it realistic? Is it effective? Is it modeling strong leadership? Are you really protecting yourself or are you trapping yourself in a pressure cooker? You can either choose when to blow or have it burst out when least expected. The impact of burying emotions Prioritizing archaic societal expectations over what is actually going on inside your mind and/or body can pack a punch. The negative impact from burying emotions takes a toll. Bottling up feelings leads to stress, anxiety and unrealistic expectations of self. If you are lucky enough to be surrounded by a strong team, proving a human response is survivable speaks volumes. You get to have your moments. Bottling emotions can lead to chronic stress, which impacts the heart, body and mind. Dr. Colleen Mullen says, "The stress caused to the body can lead to increased diabetes and heart disease risks. Other effects can be memory difficulties." Much like a ticking time bomb, letting the emotions out in bite-size bursts is far more manageable than one dramatic explosion. It has been said that, 'authentic professional relationships are the heart of personal well-being, career growth, and fulfillment.' It is impossible to build authentic, reciprocal relationships without sharing your own true self. In a nutshell Displaying emotional histrionics is rarely a great path, but, on occasion, embracing those escalated feelings and sharing them certainly lightens the weight of those emotions. It's also an effective way to turn that societal frown upside down. Normalizing differences in how colleagues deal with stress, cope with helplessness and lean into releasing that weight drives true acceptance that successful leadership can look and feel different. Much like 'if you see something say something', find your outlets and, when overwhelmed, find those outlets and have support moving past the heavy thoughts and feelings. If your outlets are not comfortable working you through those moments, find other outlets. Through reciprocal support comes authenticity, fresh ideas and continuously improved outcomes.
Bloomberg
15 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Three Ways America's World Order Could Collapse
Nothing lasts forever: Every international order finds its end. Pax Romana stabilized the greater Mediterranean world, until decline set in. The British global order flourished in the 19th century but came apart amid two world wars in the 20th. Today, in an unruly world led by an erratic America, it's hard not to wonder if the US-led order is on its way out. Since 1945, that order has generated tremendous peace, prosperity and freedom. It can only be termed a smashing success. But stresses on that order — those imposed by its challengers, and those imposed by its creator — have been mounting. One way of gauging just how severe the risks have become is by considering the various ways an order might end.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I Thought I Knew What Would Happen When My Kids Finally Left The House. I Was Wrong.
When I was in my 20s and living with a friend, I'd leave cookies in our kitchen, and within a couple of days, the box was empty. For the few years we lived together, I assumed my roommate was sharing in the consumption. It wasn't until I moved into my own apartment and chronicled the expediency with which I devoured a box of cookies that I understood she had never placed her hand in my 'cookie jar.' Back then, I questioned her about my revelation, and she confirmed her distaste for cookies. Maybe I always knew this, but, for years, I validated my cookie binge by imagining she was helping me finish a box (or two). This sweet epiphany shaped my perception of the world. Afterward, I told friends they had to spend time living on their own to figure out who was eating the metaphorical cookies in their lives. Living on your own is an insightful look into who you really are. There's nobody there for you to resent because they left dirty dishes in the sink or to blame for making you stay up too late binge-watching 'Columbo' episodes from the '70s. Conversely, you can't give someone credit for eating the snack food you unintentionally finished in a day or seriously believe the apartment is clean because you're the tidy one. In short, it unmasks you. For the first time in over 25 years, I'm living alone. This is both a luxury and a reckoning. When I was in my 30s, and my children were young, my husband passed away, and I was instantly tasked with balancing a chaotic life. When you're a working single mother, who is also the sole full-time parent in a household layered in a film of grief, you don't have time to think about who is 'eating the cookies.' You simply exist to satisfy any immediate task, whether it be work- or kid-related. During those years, I envisioned a day when my children would be on their own, but it was a concept, like having a fast metabolism or retirement, that seemed either mythical or for much older people. There was no moment for substantial reflection in my chronically busy life, yet there was still time for me to cook up a fantasy version of myself. This figment, born out of my depressed imagination, was the 'ideal me,' the person I could have been if I wasn't saddled with responsibility. The 'imaginary Alison' was more creative, relaxed, successful, civically engaged, well-traveled, and a pile of other hopeful adjectives. I reminded myself that when my kids were adults, I'd finally be able to become this upgraded version of myself. My empty nest years seemed to arrive faster than I imagined, and my kids were both adults. OK, emerging adults who used my Seamless and Apple Pay, but still spent most of the year at school. I was heartbroken. But I was also curious to see who I would become without the constant responsibilities of single parenting. On the drive back from dropping off my youngest at college, I hoped I'd instantly unearth that 'imagined version' of myself. Maybe they'd impress me by composing an opera or by scaling Mount Everest, even though I'm not a musician and am mildly afraid of heights. The next morning when I awoke, I hadn't transformed. Although, I immediately noticed my phone charger was still on my nightstand (with a fully charged phone!). Within a week, I came to the revelation I probably only had to do laundry once a week instead of once a day. Yet I must confess that during my first solo trip to the supermarket, I filled my cart with Yodels, Ring Dings, ice cream and frozen dinners, because I no longer had to set a 'good example' and could finally indulge. Since I'm middle-aged, this sort of 'Home Alone' behavior lasted about a month, before I found myself popping antacids and going back to yoga. But parts of me were being revealed. Yes, my kids required me to do more housework, and my grocery bill decreased by 75%, but when they lived with me, I had to model 'proper adult behavior,' which kept me healthier. However other discoveries took longer to untangle. For instance, did raising kids stop me from being more creative, active or social? Possibly. OK, definitely, but it also deepened my life by making me more selfless. I often used my kids as an excuse for why I wasn't accomplishing certain goals like writing more, and yes, they were eating some of the 'cookies,' but now when I fill a Saturday with unnecessary errands or plop down on the couch and just waste a day watching movies, I have nobody to blame but myself. Truthfully, when I look at my social life over the past year, it looks like someone who is decades younger than me. My calendar is overflowing with trivia nights, book groups, hanging out with my boyfriend, impromptu drinks with my fellow empty nester friends, and although I've taken in a ton of culture, it occurs to me that I was probably more productive when my children were living with me. Naively, I believed if the kids weren't around, I'd be doing more. But my kids weren't stopping me from accomplishing goals — in fact, they were inspiring me. However, despite being one year into empty nesting and finally unmasking the unrealistic version of myself that taunted me for over a decade, I still feel like there is a ghost of my former self haunting me. When I pass by my kid's old elementary school and see the parents lined up, I get anxious that I'm late to pick up my kids, even though it's been years since they've attended that school. Then, I instinctively look for familiar faces in the crowd of parents, but they're all younger than me. It's during those moments when I need to readjust to the reality that being a 'single mom' is no longer the starring role of my life. Although my adult children still need me a lot, we need to give ourselves the space to get by on our own. In doing so, we may also give ourselves the gift of discovering who emptied the cookie jar. Do you have a compelling personal story you'd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we're looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@ Solve the daily Crossword
