Bde Maka Ska Public Art Project


The Bde Maka Ska Public Art Project is part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's Bde Maka Ska–Harriet Master Plan. In parallel with the restoring the name of Lake Calhoun to its Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska, a public art project was initiated to commemorate Ḣeyata Oṭuŋwe, a 19th century Dakota agricultural community on the southeast bank of Bde Maka Ska, and its founder, Dakota leader Maḣpiya Wic̣aṡṭa.

Project elements

The project's artwork pieces, collectively "Zaníyaŋ Yutḣókc̣a", include a public gathering place with a circular stone seating area, ornamental panels forming a railing, and a pedestrian path with stampings depicting and naming various local crops and wildlife.
The site incorporates an existing memorial plaque, reading, "To perpetuate the memory of the Sioux or Dakota Indians who occupied this region for more than two centuries prior to the treaties of 1851. This tablet is erected by the , 1930."
A project includes material on the history of the site and of the project itself. Interpretive signage, a collaboration between the park board and descendants, is planned for the project's next step.
DakotaEnglish
OHIŊNINAŊ DED WAṬI KTEI will always live here.
ḢEYATA OṬUŊWEThe village away from the river
WAC̣IŊṬANKAperseverance
WÓOḢAŊWAṠTEgenerosity
WÓWADITAKEcourage
DAḲOTA WIC̣OḢAŊDakota way of life

DakotaEnglish
TAŊYAŊ YAHIwelcome
HOĠAŊfish
WAḢCÁflower, purple cone
WAŊBDÍeagle
P̣EŻÍḢOTAsage
TÁHCAdeer
PSÍŊwild rice
MAṬÓbear
C̣AŊPÁchokecherry
ṬAṬÁŊKAbuffalo
ḲÉYAturtle
TAŊYAŊ YAHIwelcome