Design

After nearly ten years of thoughtful relationship building, community engagement and visioning, Owámniyomni Okhódayapi is pleased to announce the design for cultural and environmental restoration of Owámniyomni.

The Upper Lock is a concrete monolith – a monument to industrialization – that has obstructed the Falls for over 60 years and and devastated our connection to the River. Soon, when you walk across the Stone Arch Bridge or watch the cameras pan over the Minneapolis skyline on the evening news, you will see a new living monument that welcomes relatives back to the River and says, “This is Dakota land.”

The River and the Falls have always been sources of power and abundance; it is time to honor the water as a relative, rather than a resource, once again.

The Owámniyomni project will restore 5.2 acres of land, water and bluff conditions on the Minneapolis central riverfront. An additional three acres are being designed in coordination with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board so that the Owámniyomni project, Water Works Phase 2 and Mill Ruins Park can be experienced seamlessly as one place.

Project construction will be divided into two phases; the Land Transformation, focused on site preparation and planting, will begin in 2026, and the Water Transformation, focused on the cascade and shoreline, will follow. These will be periods of drastic physical change, when we will remove the concrete structures and metal fencing that have blocked River access for decades and restore the original ecological conditions of the site. Some construction activities, including demolition of select Army Corps structures, will begin before the property is conveyed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Owámniyomni Okhódayapi. Full conveyance is expected in late 2026.

In typical development projects, design teams are comprised of architects, landscape architects, engineers and project managers. They collaborate on site studies, design concepts, community engagement and construction documentation. They host workshops or public meetings for the general public or targeted stakeholder groups. In rare cases, Native people or Native Nations are invited to participate or simply notified that work is in progress.

The Owámniyomni project is fundamentally different. Dakota Knowledge Keepers representing multiple Dakota Tribes and communities lead the design process. The Knowledge Keepers are a group of individuals who are paid members of the consultant team, earning hourly rates comparable to the licensed landscape architects, ecologists, engineers and project managers that support their work. Dakota Knowledge Keepers participating in the Owámniyomni project include:

• Gwen Westerman, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate
  Scholar, poet, artist and Dakota language speaker
• Glenn Wasicu, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation in Manitoba
  Fluent, first-language Dakota speaker, journalist and teacher
• Erin Griffin, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate
  Doctorate in Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization, knowledge of plant medicine
• Nicky Buck, Prairie Island Indian Community
  Traditional ecological knowledge, community builder
• Mona Smith, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate
  Multi-media artist, educator, board member of Owámniyomni Okhódayapi and member of the Native Partnership Council
• Cole Redhorse Taylor, Mdewakanton Dakota from Tinta Wita (Prairie Island Indian Community)
  Fine artist working in drawing, painting, beadwork and quillwork
• Vanessa Goodthunder, Cansayapi (Lower Sioux Indian Community)
  Director of Dakota immersion school, roles in Mark Dayton and Tina Smith administrations
• Jewell Arcoren, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate
  Community activist; study of behavioral health, intergenerational trauma and parallel trauma; member of the Native Partnership Council
• Samantha Odegard, Pežutazizi Kapi (Upper Sioux Community)
  Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, artist, teacher and protector of sacred sites
• Juanita Espinosa, Spirit Lake Nation, Turtle Mountain & LCO Descendant
  Community organizer; American Indian health researcher
• Ramona Kitto Stately, Santee Sioux Dakota Nation
  Educator working for narrative change, beadwork artist
• Ryan Dixon, Lower Sioux Indian Community
  Dakota language teacher
• Jeremy Red Eagle, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Nakoda descendant
  Traditional Dakota craftsman, bow-maker, artist

Unfortunately Glenn Wasicu made his journey during the design process. He is a cherished loved one, relative, educator and elder. Owámniyomni Okhódayapi was one stop of many in a life dedicated to service. Glenn left a powerful legacy for future generations to inherit and build upon.

Owámniyomni Okhódayapi Glenn Wasicuna nina piundapi. Unkan mahpiyata iyaye nakun ihpeunyapi. He wicasta kin tanyan iwanyanke kun he. Unkan wacinuntankapi ka nakun unkiksuyapte do.

We are honored to learn from these relatives and apply their teachings in a good way.

GGN is the lead design and landscape architecture firm for the project, while Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design supports the Dakota Knowledge Keepers and transforms heritage guidance into design direction. Duval leads project implementation, delivering the project in line with Owámniyomni Okhódayapi’s mission and operating strategy of all-encompassing care. The full team includes:

• GGN – Landscape Architect
• Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design – Indigenous-led Community Engagement
• EOR – Civil Engineer, Hydrology, Ecology
• Urban Ecosystems – Ecological Design
• HDR – Civil/Environmental/Structural Engineer, Federal Regulatory Lead
• Schuler Shook – Lighting Design
• ETM Associates – Operations and Maintenance Consultant
• Rockwise Consulting – Cost Estimating
• Loeffler Consulting – Construction Management Advisor
• Duval – Project Advisor to Owámniyomni Okhódayapi

The layers of meaning, intentionality and care woven into the design can’t be conveyed fully through renderings or design drawings, but we can begin to tell the story by using Dakota language and sharing the design principles that shaped this work.

The Knowledge Keepers embedded Dakota values and perspectives into the design process at every turn. They shared cultural knowledge, oral history, relationships and an understanding of Dakota language that influenced every aspect of our work – from how meetings were structured to how team members were encouraged to learn Dakota language and integrate it into their deliverables. The resulting design is truly transformative.

From the start, Elder Glenn Wasicu challenged the design team – architects, engineers, lighting designers, and permitting experts alike – to “think Dakota”. We also had to consider that “the land doesn’t know whether we intend to hurt or help it.” It is our responsibility to show the land the healing that is to come.

We constantly reframes our approach and the exploratory questions that drove the design process. Instead of imagining what we could make that would attract the most visitors or what we could build that would leave a lasting legacy, we asked:

• What does the River want?
• What is the land telling us, if we are patient enough to listen?
• What does the land need in order to heal? It needs Dakota people; it needs to hear its language.
• What can we give the land in return? If we take a rock, we need to give something in return – a gift or a story.
• What makes this place Dakota? Is it how it looks or how it feels?
• How can we show the world that the power of Owámniyomni is still here?
• A century ago, what would the turbulent waters of Owámniyomni have sounded like? How can we make the water roar now?

These questions and more informed the project site plan, materiality, procurement strategy and other aspects of restoration.