Brennen Brothers, news editor

On April 14, the city of Minneapolis announced that five acres of the federal land near Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam will be given to Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, a Dakota-led nonprofit organization which was formerly known as Friends of the Falls.

According to MPR, the organization’s plan will be to turn the site into a place of healing, restoration and connection, which will be available to Native and non-Native people. Owámniyomni Okhódayapi President Shelley Buck says Owámniyomni, also known as St. Anthony Falls, is important to the Dakota people through cultural and historical significance. She shared with MPR, “At the same time, we recognize Owámniyomni is not only a place sacred to the Dakota, it is a place of shared importance to many who call Minneapolis and Minnesota home. Our vision is to create a place of healing, beauty and belonging that is open to everyone.”  

Owámniyomni Okhódayapi’s official website states that in the Dakota language, Owámniyomni means “turbulent waters” and Okhódayapi means “to be friends with, to be friendly, or to befriend.” It is pronounced like “Oh-WAH-mini-yo-mini Oh-KOH-dah-yah-pee.”

The transfer of the land has been in the works for nearly a decade, with collaborations between the “City of Minneapolis, federal leaders, Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB), the four Dakota tribes of Minnesota, groups and community stakeholders,” writes the City Of Minneapolis. Transfer efforts began in 2015. Congress passed legislation in 2020 that ordered the transfer from the USACE to the City of Minneapolis, and the city chose Owámniyomni Okhódayapi.

Since then, the Owámniyomni Okhódayapi has made plans separated into four different seasons. The First Season, which started in 2016 and ended in 2022, saw the organization founded, had Congress pass legislation and ground the project in Native values. The Second Season, which started in 2023 and will be over in 2025, sees the organization change its name, Dakota nations determine the organization should have ownership of the land, host cultural events and complete site designs. In 2026, the land transfer is to occur, as well as re-working and restoring the land as part of the Third Season. The Third Season is planned to end in 2027. Finally, the Fourth Season, which lasts from 2028 onwards, has plans of gaining full funding, caring for land, water and animals using traditional Dakota practices and removing Upper Lock walls and restoring visibility for the Dakota people at the falls.

According to the City of Minneapolis, “This transformational project will restore and honor this place of deep significance and rich cultural heritage for Dakota peoples locally and across the country. The City of Minneapolis is proud to support Owámniyomni Okhódayapi vision, moving the riverfront away from its industrial past and returning it to a more natural state rooted in Dakota heritage.”