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Hello to those acting in solidarity with the Dakota Nation:

I’m writing to ask you for your solidarity in the struggle to return Coldwater Springs to the Dakota Nation.  Please sign the petition linked below, and post a comment on the national park website. These two – minute gestures, if widespread, will help to illustrate the power and support behind Dakota communities as they struggle to have regain this particularly sacred part of their ancestral homelands.

Background and Updates on the Coldwater situation: Coldwater springs is the most sacred place on earth to the Dakota people. It is the site of the Dakota genesis story. It is also the site of the genocidal concentration camp that followed the US – Dakota war of 1862. This land has been fenced off, polluted, scattered with abandoned buildings for many many years, under holding by the Department of the Interior : Bureau of mines. Now, finally, the bureau of mines is going to clean up and transfer the land out of their possession. The National Park Service is trying to take over the land, with interest in turning it into a tourist attraction and “historic site.” Dakota people and their allies see this as a further act of colonization within a long history of genocide and the violent domination of Dakota land, people, culture and history. If the National Park gains control of the land, the Dakota will not have access to the site on their own terms. Dakota people have been denied the ability to hold ceremony on this most sacred site since colonization, and if the Park service takes the land, this denial and colonization will be reaffirmed once again.

On February 23rd, Dakota people took over the “community” meeting set up by the Park Board to marginalize Dakota voice. There is a one-month comment period following this meeting, in which (you!) allies to Dakota people are strongly encouraged to let the NPS hear their opinions.

Here, with our voices, we can send a message to the government that the Dakota Nation stands strong with many allies. There will be future opportunities to continually show solidarity in other ways, but for now, please sign the petition below, and post a comment on the National Park Service website, linked below. On the NPS website, please make sure to mention:

– Restoration of Coldwater Springs means restoration of Dakota rights to the land
- The federal government must clean up the land before returning it to the Dakota

To sign the petition to get the site returned:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/return-coldwater-springs-to-the-dakota

File a public comment with the National Park Service:
http://www.nps.gov/MWR/sendmail.htm?o=11HS%28J%2A%2B%3AH%3BJ%3BFQV%5FZEFLHE%20%20%0A&r=/miss/parkmgmt/bomcurr.htm

Thank You!

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National Park Service to restore land near Fort Snelling
Land near Fort Snelling includes spring
By Dennis Lien
dlien@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 12/03/2008 11:11:07 PM CST

The former federal Bureau of Mines campus near Fort Snelling should be cleared of abandoned buildings and managed by the National Park Service as part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, federal officials said Wednesday.

The 27.3-acre parcel along the Mississippi River includes Coldwater Spring, which was used as a primary water source for early soldiers and is a significant site for many American Indians.

The recommendation follows a period in which the Park Service looked into giving the property to other nonfederal agencies, colleges or universities. But none showed any interest, according to Steve Johnson, the MNRRA’s chief of resource management.

“The more we thought about it, the more logical it seemed that we could own and manage it,” Johnson said.

Once final approval is given, the property would be cleared of 11 abandoned buildings and restored to natural conditions. Johnson estimated that cost at $3 million.

The property is adjacent to Minnesota 55 and lies just south of Minnehaha Falls Regional Park and just west of the river. Bureau of Mines scientists researched an array of health and safety concerns for mine workers there until the site was closed as part of a national restructuring effort.

A key question, Johnson said, will be how to treat the spring, which still flows. Because it’s within the Fort Snelling National Historic Landmark area, authorities could choose to restore it to its presettlement state or to the more
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ornate state it was in while soldiers built and used the fort.

The Department of Interior’s “preferred alternative” could change between now and final action next year. But Johnson said the agency has effectively set its course.

Eight years ago, the Metropolitan Airports Commission voted to buy the land for $6 million but backed off after the Sept. 11 attacks. Under that scenario, most of the land would have been preserved for open space, wildlife habitat, and other scenic and recreational purposes.

Dennis Lien can be reached at 651-228-5588.

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http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~madalinerocque/lawsuit.html

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Please join us at the upcoming unveiling of a video project depicting the stories of homeless youth in the Twin Cities area. Ain Dah Yung staff and youth have been working on this project for the past year, along with other local service providers. The event takes place on Wednesday, November 19th 2-4pm at the new Wilder Center on the corner of Lexington and University in St. Paul. Richard Garland, ADY Associate Director, will take part in a panel discussion following the video showing. TPT Channel 17 will air Homeless Youth: Finding Home on November 22 at 8pm.

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