Minneapolis park board votes to close Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park over Native American burial site concerns

Emotions were high Wednesday as the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board decided the fate of the Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park.

The land in question sits within Minnehaha Regional Park on the banks of the Mississippi River. That area is now believed to be a Native American burial site. 

Almost every single commissioner voted to decommission the park on Wednesday.

"Minnehaha is all we have, that's the only place left," said one woman who took the stand and visits the park often.

The park has welcomed four-legged friends for more than 30 years. The board committee consulted with a Native American advisory council and passed a resolution in early June that would decommission the space.

"We're in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. It does seem obscene that we have only one safe area to recreate with our dogs in the water," a man said as he took the stand.

"It was hard to see the flare ups and emotions and lack of respect on both sides," said Maggie Lorenz with the Wakan Tiki Center. "I think we have an opportunity to become a model for how to rectify centuries of wrongdoing." 

On Wednesday, after nearly three dozen community members took the stand, the full board voted to close it off to off-leash dogs.

After WCCO asked one man who identified as Indigenous when he thinks it should be done, he said: "Immediately."

Park-goers gathered petitions. Commissioner Cathy Abene even pushed the board for more time to decide what to do.

"It is such a community spot," said Barb Allen of St. Paul. 

"The point is to build consensus. We have to," said Abene.

The board agreed that the time to decide was now.

"We are trying to respect a community that needs respect," said Meg Forney, commissioner at large.

"None of the cities of municipalities have been doing the right thing from the start," said Lorenz. 

The board will close the park's off-leash area by the end of the year. It'll remain open to visitors, just not for off-leash dogs. 

The board says it plans to consult with the community from here.

Wednesday night's vote would decommission the park as an off-leash park area by the end of the year. As of now, dogs wouldn't be banned if they were on a leash.