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 Wicaṡṭa (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 Smith oversaw production of the website featuring information about Maḣpiya Wicaṡṭa, Ḣeyata Ọtunwe, and interviews with descendants and artists. 

The idea to recognize the 1830s Dakota village had been discussed for many years, but wasn”™t formally adopted until the MPRB began the Bde Maka Ska/Harriet Master Planning process and responded to the strong desire by community members to reveal and interpret the natural and human history of the lakes, specifically around the Native American history of the area.… Read the rest “New public art at Bde Maka Ska”

MayDay, HOTB: What will we build together?

By CORRIE ZOLL, HOTB EX. DIRECTOR

Photo by Tesha M. Christensen
A 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 individuals, for the organization, and for the communities where we do our work. These cuts reduce HOBT”™s staff capacity by more than half in order to allow HOBT to finish its current fiscal year in August without running out of cash.… Read the rest “MayDay, HOTB: What will we build together?”