Minneapolis Seeks Sites Significant to City’s Native American Communities

I-35W near Franklin Avenue: Built in 1960, I-35W cut through a neighborhood popular among the Native American community near 4th Avenue South and East Franklin Avenue.

Researchers hired by the city of Minneapolis are posing this question to members of Native American communities: If there is one spot within the city limits that you could preserve from development because of its historic, spiritual or community significance, what place would that be?

Would it be connected with schools created to preserve Native languages and cultures or a Native-owned business that you loved? Would it be connected to the start of the American Indian Movement (AIM) or the Upper Midwest American Indian Center?

Here’s the background: The City of Minneapolis is wrapping up research on sacred places, important spaces, and the untold stories of the American Indian peoples who lived here prior to white settlement and who continue to live here today. One possible upshot of the research is to identify sites for possible protection against future development.