Restoring Local Connection: Land, Water, and Culture at Owamniyomni

This session is offsite. Space on the bus is limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Alternatively, the 1.7-mile walk would take approximately 40 minutes each way.

Join us for an immersive education session at Owamniyomni, the Dakota name for the sacred site of the Mississippi River’s only major waterfall, where we will explore the deep relationships between land, water, culture, and collective memory. This outdoor, offsite session will be co-led by Shelley Buck (Owámniyomni Okhódayapi), Sophie Vorhoff Harris (Trust for Public Land), and Cary Simmons (Trust for Public Land). The discussion will highlight the leadership of two Dakota-led organizations—Wakáŋ Tipi Awaŋyaŋkapi and the Owámniyomni Okhódayapi—working to reclaim and steward culturally significant sites across the Twin Cities through community-driven vision, ecological restoration, and powerful storytelling by Dakota knowledge-keepers.

The session will also spotlight Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) work across Minnesota to strengthen connections between community-rooted leaders and the broader ecosystem of public agencies and philanthropic partners. From sacred sites to schoolyards, TPL will highlight the critical role of partnership, collaboration between local organizations, and state and national resources needed to bring community-driven projects to life. As we gather on Dakota homelands, this conversation will invite participants to consider how philanthropy can support tribal sovereignty, cultural revitalization, and the power of place to connect people across histories, communities, and geographies.