AIC 53rd Annual Meeting

**Note: This abstract is prepared on behalf of the AIC Sustainability Committee in partnership with local non-profit organizations listed in the abstract.**

Natural landscapes and their non-human components are as much a part of cultural heritage as man-made materials and their intangible elements. By acknowledging the fragility of these environments, cultural heritage conservators can better engage with the natural ecological connections that are intertwined with the source of heritage and belongings made by communities local to these cultural landscapes. The concept of our project is part of a larger initiative to highlight local and significant ecological resilience concerns, and discuss their relation to cultural heritage and broader regional adaptation strategies.

For this annual meeting, we propose a talk on environmental stewardship of regional sites that are sacred to the Dakota People and other local communities, and are at-risk to climate change. Ȟaȟa Wakpá (the Mississippi River) is the second longest river in North America and represents cultural significance as a vital waterway for sustenance and transportation. The river is considered a sacred and powerful entity to many Indigenous peoples living along the Mississippi and its tributaries. For the third year in a row, extreme drought conditions in the Midwest are drawing down the river’s water levels, with widely varying precipitation patterns and flooding throughout the year attributed to impacts of climate change. Two non-profits local to the Twin Cities are addressing the environmental and cultural needs for sacred sites connected to the river. Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi, a Native-Led, East Side environmental stewardship nonprofit located in St. Paul, MN, focuses on the Lower Phelan Creek, its caves and burial sites. Based in downtown Minneapolis, Owámniyomni Okhódayapi advocates for the transformation of Owámniyomni (St. Anthony Falls), where Dakota peoples traditionally gathered for ceremonies, trade, and offerings, into a place of community healing “where Dakota history, language, and culture are visible and celebrated”. As Owámniyomni is in close proximity to the conference venue, a pre-conference tour with the non-profit is under consideration by AIC leadership.

These two organizations, both centered in Dakota values, strive to preserve their sacred connections with the land and form bonds of kinship for healing within their communities. The AIC Sustainability Committee proposes to collaborate on a talk with a representative from one or both of these organizations to promote the cultural heritage significance these sites have for Mní Sóta (Minnesota) communities and collaborative efforts to restore them. We will highlight regional perspectives and draw connections with ecological and cultural conservation communities, which have critical overlaps.