Native high school students help restore former St. Paul dumping site into its original sacred land

ST. PAUL, Minn. – On Wednesday, a little over a dozen Native American high schoolers spent the day along the Mississippi River in St. Paul, nurturing the land and getting in touch with their culture.

It was led by Migizi, a nonprofit which focuses on development and continued education for Native youth in the Twin Cities.

Their goal was to restore and honor the sacred land it once was. For decades, it was an unofficial city dumping site and a common target for vandalism. However, since 2013, the Lower Phalen Creek Project, which is Native-led, has been working to restore the area.

To many, the 27 acres are known as the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. But to the Native people, it is known as Wakan Tipi. Next year, they will also open the Wakan Tipi Center on site.

On Thursday, the Migizi group laid down seeds of different native, prairie grasses to bring new life to the area.

"There are these sacred sites that we still need to keep sacred," said Belen Dominguez-Adan, an El Colegio High School student, who participated in the restoration efforts with her grandmother. "I hope to see more trees, more things being planted, the earth being taken care of as it should be."  

Another part of the restoration of Lower Phalen Creek Project is land management of the ancient burial mounds. They've been at Indian Mounds Park for thousands of years, and in the last decade, they've been untouched and become overgrown.

"I come here to pay my respect to my relatives," said Franky Jackson, a Dakota Cultural Resource Specialist, who was there to teach the importance of this land to the students.

Jackson and other Elders led the teens in putting prayer ties on the fencing around the ancient burial mounds. Each prayer tie holds tobacco, which is what their ancestors used as a medicinal herb.

"We're living in a time where people are moving back to reconnect, simply to be closer to their homeland," said Jackson.

The prayer ties are a physical way to show their presence on these lands.

"I would love people to know that we're not gone, we're still here," said Dominguez-Adan.

Migizi leads several youth field trips throughout the year to learn more about native culture in Minnesota. They also offer paid internships.

Click here to learn more about Migizi, and click here to learn more about the Lower Phalen Creek Project.