Bde Maka Ska Public Art Project Explained

Bde Maka Ska Public Art Project
Artist:Angela Two Stars, Sandy Spieler, Mona Smith[1]
Year:2018
Type:Public Art
Metric Unit:m
Imperial Unit:feet
Coordinates:44.9358°N -93.3058°W
Url:https://bdemakaska.net

The Bde Maka Ska Public Art Project is part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's Bde Maka Ska–Harriet Master Plan.[2] In parallel with (but separate from) the restoring the name of Lake Calhoun to its Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska, a public art project was initiated to commemorate Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe, a 19th-century Dakota agricultural community on the southeast bank of Bde Maka Ska, and its founder, Dakota leader Maḣpiya Wic̣aṡṭa (Cloud Man).[3]

Project elements

The project's artwork pieces, collectively "" (Brave Change), include a public gathering place with a circular stone seating area, ornamental panels forming a railing, and a pedestrian path with stampings depicting and naming various local crops (notably corn and wild rice) and wildlife.[4]

The site incorporates an existing memorial plaque, reading, "To perpetuate the memory of the Sioux or Dakota Indians who occupied this region for more than two centuries prior to the treaties of 1851. This tablet is erected by the Minnesota Society of Daughters of the American Colonists, 1930."

A project website includes material on the history of the site and of the project itself. Interpretive signage, a collaboration between the park board and descendants, (pending funding) is planned for the project's next step.[5]

Ornamental Panels
DakotaEnglish
I will always live here.
The village away from the river (Cloud Man's Village; Eatonville)
perseverance
generosity
courage
Dakota way of life
Path Stampings
DakotaEnglish
welcome (at south entrance)
fish
flower, purple cone
eagle
sage
deer
wild rice
bear
chokecherry
buffalo
turtle
welcome (at north entrance)

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bde Maka Ska Public Art Project. City of Minneapolis.
  2. Web site: Master Plans. Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
  3. Web site: Bde Maka Ska Public Art Project. City of Minneapolis.
  4. Web site: Bde Maka Ska Public Art Project Study Report . Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
  5. Web site: Bde Maka Ska Public Art Project. December 29, 2019. City of Minneapolis, MN.