Enviromental Justice Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi

Executive Summary
By: Dyan Crawford

There was a time when the Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi, a cave known as the dwelling
place of the spirits to the Dakota people centuries ago, was the center of three
Dakota villages. During the 1850s, Jonathan Carver, who brought the Dakotas to the
cave, discovered petroglyphs of snakes and other creatures that European settlers
had found. As a result of the American Civil War, the Dakota people were forced to
leave the area in the mid-1850s, and railroad companies destroyed the cave's
atrium, where petroglyphs were thought to be located. To create a place that pays
homage to Minnesota's four federally recognized Native American tribes, the
project partners worked with the tribes to develop a site that pays homage to the
tribes' history.

In Dakota, Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi is "those who care for Wakan Tipi." This means
that those who care about Wakan Tipi are also passionate about the surrounding
environment. Thus, they are more aware of the importance of indigenous
leadership within that passion. The indigenous people were the first
environmentalists, and their ceremonies, stories, and experiences are the stories of
this land that are the stories of them; they are the first environmentalists. Native
American environmental groups in Saint Paul are dedicated to protecting the
environment and working with Indian Ed students to talk about water and land in
the context of their traditional land and water stewardship. The atmosphere
worsens without Indigenous leadership, and climate change and pollution hurt
Indigenous people.

In addition to learning about Western ideologies, they were taught how to care for
the land. They were taken to sacred sites, abandoned rail yards, and artificial
dumping grounds. Native people are involved at every project level to uphold their
values and be responsible land stewards. The family loves the area because of the
trees, plants, and water workers. They have planted plants in the last couple of
years. They believe that only through a connection filled with compassion for their
community, land, water, plants, and animals will they be able to heal themselves
naturally. Visitors may wonder what it means to be underground but still exist on
the surface when they arrive at the site. The stream must be renamed Daylight to
return the creek to the area.