Dakota People Reclaim Sacred Site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - CAMP COLDWATER, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA—On Tuesday, September 2, members of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires) of the Dakota Oyate are reclaiming Coldwater Spring and the surrounding land. As the Original People of Minisota Makoce (Land Where the Waters Reflect the Skies), Dakota people are claiming their inherent right to their sacred sites as well as the rights preserved in the Treaty of 1805.
According to the original treaty that Zebulon Pike negotiated with the Dakota in 1805, “The United States promise on their part to permit the Sioux the pass, repass, hunt or make other uses of the said districts, as they have formerly done, without any other exception, but those specified in article first.” The “Sioux Nation,” (including the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota Peoples) thus maintain these rights in the ceded territory, which includes the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, covering an estimated 155,000 acres. Yet, the United States government did not fulfill even the meager terms of the treaty, a payment of approximately a penny an acre, to the Dakota people. This calls into the question the legitimacy of the United States government and the State of Minnesota to occupy this land base.
Dakota people will launch the reclamation of Coldwater Spring with four days of ceremonies. They then plan to maintain an occupation of the site until Dakota rights to the land are fully restored and the federal government conducts a clean-up of the site, removing the toxic structures and restoring the land its previously pristine condition.
For further information, contact Jim Anderson (612-910-0730), Chris Mato Nunpa (320-981-0206), or Waziyatawin (320-444-5643).