Owamniyomni Okhodayapi, a Dakota-led nonprofit, will begin restoring 5.2 acres on the Mississippi River later this year. They are planning to design three additional acres in collaboration with the Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board. The project will involve native plantings, restoring the limestone bluffs that once bordered the river and new walkways, among other developments. The above rendering is an aerial view of the proposed changes. Most of the work to be done will be along the Stone Arch Bridge. (Provided)
Across the river from Northeast, at the far end of the Stone Arch Bridge, a project to restore a part of the riverfront to its natural state will begin this year.
The St. Anthony West Neighborhood Association on April 9 heard a presentation on the Owamniyomni Project, a Dakota-led effort to reclaim a section of the river from the industrialization that built Minneapolis.
The land, adjacent to St. Anthony Falls, is sacred ground for the Dakota people. An island at the site, Spirit Island, was once a place where Dakota women would come to have their babies. The island no longer exists.
Amanda Wigen, the communications director for Owamniyomni Okhodayapi, gave the presentation to about 30 people who attended the meeting at the River Hub at Graco Park.
“You’ll be able to see the construction from the Stone Arch Bridge for the next two years,” Wigen said.
The project will be next to the Upper Lock and Dam, which is no longer operational. One of the first phases will be to remove the upper two floors of the visitor center and bathroom facilities in the parking lot next to the lock. The lot will also be removed.
The lock itself is part of the river structure and dam and there are no plans at this point to remove it, though it has been closed since 2015.
Also this year, the site will be prepared, and work will begin on restoring the limestone bluffs that once bordered the Mississippi, known in Dakota as Haha Wakpa. There will be a planting in the fall with native species gathered from the 11 Dakota tribes in Minnesota.
Wigen said the land, which is now owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will be transferred to the Owamniyomni Project at the end of the year.
Next year, in phase 2 of the project, there will be a restoration of the water flow through the five-acre site. It will include a 25-foot waterfall and a stream that flows through the park. Walkways accessible to people with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities act, will be added to the site.
One of the goals of the project, Wigen said, is to restore a sense of the 50-foot drop in elevation at the site using native limestone.
An additional three acres, owned by the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board, will also be returned to a natural state.
The project will cost about $60 million, and Wigen said the construction phase is about $22 million of that. About $35 million has already been raised. Some of the rest is for long-term maintenance of the restored ground. At this time, there is no federal money in the project.
A resident asked about signage in the project, and Wigen said, “It won’t be traditional. There won’t be signs along the walkways.”
Another question touched upon the lower lock just downstream on the river. Wigen said it’s possible the lock will be removed and that would eliminate the pool in the river and increase the current.
(Colleen O’Connor Toberman, land use and planning program director at Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR), told the Northeaster in March that FMR will initiate a feasibility study into removing the lock and dam downstream.)
Landscaping on the site will be done by GGN Landscaping, headquartered in Seattle. In a quote from the Owámniyomni Okhódayapi website, GGN’s principal architect David Malda said, “The environmental restoration of Owámniyomni reflects the enduring values of the Dakota who know this place best. Beyond beautification, the design seeks to welcome Dakota people back to a place from which they were historically exiled while inviting the public to engage with the land, its history and its culture.”