‘Cover Stories’ Archives
Navigation Center closes
Coalition partners involved in the temporary Navigation Center in south Minneapolis reflected June 3 on the months”™ long effort to provide a safe and service-rich environment for people formerly living at the Franklin-Hiawatha homeless encampment. The Navigation Center at 2109 Cedar Ave. S. has closed after operating since late December of 2018. At its peak occupancy, it provided beds and shelter to 176 people in three sprung structures. Seventy-four people who stayed at the center have been connected to housing, nursing homes or treatment programs ”” a high success rate compared to traditional shelters. Red Lake Nation, Simpson Housing Services and the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID) partnered to provide services onsite and led transition efforts while the city of Minneapolis provided funding and support for the Navigation Center. Through the Navigation Center, people were able to secure an array of services including pathways to permanent [...]
New public art at Bde Maka Ska
Photo by BRUCE SILCOX The city of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) announce the dedication of a new gathering space and public artwork at Bde Maka Ska on June 8, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. Festivities will include music, comments from descendants and artists, refreshments and activities for the whole family. The artwork includes a website, decorative railing and pavement stamps by artists Mona Smith, Sandy Spieler and Angela Two Stars honoring Maḣpiya Wicaṡá¹a (Cloud Man) and Ḣeyata Ọtunwe (Village to the side), the Dakota leader and community that inhabited this area in the 1830s. The three artists collaborated on the entire design with Angela Two Stars conceiving the pavement stamps depicting plants and animals significant to the Dakota, as well as selecting the Dakota words and phrases incorporated into the site. Sandy Spieler invented the overall railing design highlighting crops grown and harvested at the village; and Mona [...]
MayDay, HOTB: What will we build together?
By CORRIE ZOLL, HOTB EX. DIRECTOR Photo by Tesha M. ChristensenA record number of people attended the 45th annual MayDay parade and celebration on Sunday, May 5, enjoying beautiful weather while celebrating organizer Sandy Spieler”™s last year. A lot has happened over the past six months. HOBT experienced many of the same challenges faced by other legacy arts organizations that have been lost in recent years. Though this period has been difficult, at every step we felt and appreciated the support from your calls, messages, donations and social media posts. You are the reason we continue to strive toward finding a future for this work. As you may know, in January HOBT announced budget and personnel cuts after $130,000 in projected income did not come through. The layoffs are significant, more than half the staff have been laid off. Added together, the stories of those people and their time with HOBT take up a century. The loss is painful for these [...]
