Once Upon a Toxic Sanctuary: Partnering to Restore and Reclaim a Dakota Sacred Site
Roxanne Gould
University of Minnesota, Duluth
James Rock
University of Minnesota, Duluth
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/ijps.v4i3.177
Keywords: indigenous sacred site, Dakota sacred site, partnering with indigenous peoples
Abstract
In this article, we examine the role of partnerships as they relate to the destruction and reconstruction of Wakaŋ Tipi and Indian Mounds Park as a Dakota sacred feminine, origin, birth site through a theoretical lens of critical Indigenous pedagogy of place (Trinidad, 2016) and partnership studies (Eisler, 2005). We discuss the deep historical, social, psychological, and cultural relationship the Dakota have to this sacred site and the challenge of partnering with non-Dakota entities to restore Wakaŋ Tipi/Indian Mounds Park from a toxic waste dump to a spiritual sanctuary.