St. Paul and Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi to Co-Manage Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary 

On October 14, Mayor Melvin Carter joined American Indian community members, tribal leaders, students, and partners at American Indian Magnet School to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day and announce a new co-management agreement between the City of St. Paul and nonprofit partner Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi to steward the land at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. 

Through the agreement, Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi (meaning those who care for Wakáŋ Típi) will implement traditional Indigenous land management methods to care for the 27-acre Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, also known as Wakaŋ Típi, which has long been a Dakota sacred site. Their approach to this work not only restores land and ecosystems, but also the relationship between Indigenous people and these culturally important landscapes in the Twin Cities.

“St. Paul is built on Dakota land,” said Mayor Carter. “We are proud to finally restore access and stewardship to this sacred site.”

The partnership reflects years of intentional learning alongside Dakota leaders by the Division of Design and Construction within the Department of Parks and Recreation to build better knowledge and understanding of the Dakota culturally significant landscapes and sacred sites in St. Paul. The Cultural Landscape Study at nearby Indian Mounds Regional Park helped develop the concepts for the Wakáŋ Típi Center, a 7,500-square-foot cultural and environmental interpretive center at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary scheduled to open in 2025. The center will offer exhibits, cultural interpretation, and programs aimed to increase the understanding of the history and rich culture of the Dakota, as well as provide a home base for Dakota communities to reconnect and revive long-held practices.

The organization was awarded a $2.4 million Bush Community Innovation grant to lead this work. Recently, Wakáŋ Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi was recommended for $669,000 in funding from the State of Minnesota’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund for major restoration and environmental learning projects at the site. 

Wakáŋ Típi, the cave that sits on the eastern end of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, is a sacred site intimately connected to the Maka Paha (burial mounds) atop the bluff at Indian Mounds Regional Park. The two sites are part of the larger Bdote landscape, which is the area around the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers holding one of the creation stories of the Dakota people. Various bands of the Dakota Oyate and other Indigenous Nations have met at Wakáŋ Típi over generations to build and strengthen alliances. 

Formerly known as Lower Phalen Creek Project, Wakáŋ  Típi Awáŋyaŋkapi is a Native-led, East Side environmental stewardship nonprofit grounded in Dakota values. Founded in 1997 by community activists, their project area stretches from Lake Phalen to the Mississippi River and throughout the East Side River District. With a mission to engage people to honor and care for our natural places and the sacred sites and cultural value within them, their work is powered by a dedicated board, staff, and community of volunteers.