Relationships with the River: Water is Life - Community Conversation #2
Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 9:41AMA message from Friends of the Falls:
Join us on March 16 from 5-7pm as we continue the conversation about the future of the Upper Lock at Owámniyomni, St. Anthony Falls.
Friends of the Falls and the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI) are partnering with the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board to consider the future of the Upper Lock at Owámniyomni (meaning “turbulent waters” in the Dakota language), St. Anthony Falls. The lock closed to commercial navigation in 2015 and now presents an opportunity to not only restore public access to the river, but to create a place of healing and celebration that acknowledges the past and advances a more equitable and inclusive future.
At our second Community Conversation, Native leaders Robert Lilligren, Carrie Day Aspinwall, Sharon Day, and Wakinyan LaPointe will be joined by river experts John Shepard and Whitney Clark. We’ll discuss the river, its role at this place, and its relationship to people through time. We’ll consider the interconnected themes of ecology, history, rights of water, and reciprocity with the river from an Indigenous perspective.
Food & beverage provided for in-person guests at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Masks will be required when not eating or drinking.
Recommended parking: 19th Avenue Parking Ramp, 300 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, 55455
Guests may participate in-person or virtually. Registration required, follow this link…
Can’t attend? Share your voice by completing our online survey…
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About the panelists:
● Robert Lilligren is President and CEO of the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI), an appointed member of the Metropolitan Council, and Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID). Robert served for 12 years as the Vice President of the Minneapolis City Council, the first Tribal member elected to public office in the City of Minneapolis. He is enrolled in the White Earth Ojibwe Nation.
● Carrie Day Aspinwall, CDA Enterprises, facilitates meetings of the Native Partnership Council. Previously Carrie engaged residents, stakeholders and institutions across Minneapolis’ seventy-one neighborhoods in her role with the Neighborhood and Community Relations Department. Carrie is an enrolled citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe/Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
● Sharon M. Day, Ojibwe, is the Executive Director and a founder of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force (IPTF), formerly known as the Minnesota American Indian AIDS Task Force. She is an environmental activist and has led 20+ Water Walks since 2011, walking over 10,000 miles to offer prayers for these rivers. These extended ceremonies have occurred along the banks of the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Missouri, the Cuyahoga and Salt Rivers.
● Wakinyan Skye LaPointe is Sicangu Lakota, an Indigenous Human Rights advocate, and Co-Convener of the Mni Ki Wakan: Indigenous Water Decade. He centers Lakota knowledge, language, and ways of life in his work across human rights, working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and youth. Wakinyan is a member of The Falls Initiative Native Partnership Council.
● John Shepard is an Associate Professor in the Hamline University School of Education and Assistant Director of the university’s Center for Global Environmental Education. John’s work as a media producer, writer, and educator is largely focused on the intersection of nature and culture. His public service experience includes board memberships with Project Environment Foundation, The Rivers Council of Minnesota, the YMCA, the International Crane Foundation, and the Trust for Public Land.
● Whitney Clark, Executive Director, Friends of the Mississippi River. During his 24-year tenure, Whitney has led FMR’s growth from a start-up group with one full-time employee to one of Minnesota’s largest and most effective conservation organizations. Whitney has extensive experience in environmental policy, lobbying, advocacy and education campaigns, partnership building around environmental issues and fundraising.
