Project

Project

https://vimeo.com/295265737

Bde Maka Ska is not a new name for this lake. It is the restoration of a name that has been used for a long time. The Dakota village and the lake’s name restoration is now celebrated by the physical features that have been added here – stamps in a new walking path that incorporate Dakota images and language, a railing that presents imagery from agriculture, a gathering space, and digital media with Dakota voices.  

This part of the website offers some glimpses into how the project was conceived, how it developed, how it was constructed.  The stories told show how this project has changed hearts and minds and hopefully will change how organizations view the place in which they operate.

You are welcome to learn from the subpages about the history of this Minneapolis Parks and Recreation and Minneapolis Public Arts project, and about specific features of the site at the lake.

The subpage Project History shows Dakota people and representatives of the City of Minneapolis Public Art and Minneapolis Parks and Recreation sharing about the process of restoring the Bde Maka Ska place name, providing a gathering space, and working with artists. 

Site Features shares artists talking about how the sidewalk stamps and decorative railing were created, and images in the walkway and the railing provide a symbolic honoring of the village and the values of the Dakota people.

It’s not always, “We just came up with a name for it.” Sometimes that’s what the area wants to be called, and that’s how it came to us.

Neil Mckay

Clicking on photos below will open photo gallery.