At Mni Owe Sni near Whipple Building

Tipis stand at Mni Owe Sni (Coldwater Spring), a sacred site for the Dakota and other tribes, across from the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. Wasu Duta (which means Red Hail in Dakota) said that while some are framing them as activists or protesters, that is not their intent. “This is bigger than that,” said Wasu Duta. “This is an actual re-sovereignty claim, because of the atrocities that occurred to my people here.” Indigenous people in the Twin Cities have been detained by ICE at the Whipple Building during Operation Metro Surge. He observed that they are being monitored by federal officials based out of the Whipple Building.

“We’re here because this is who we are,” said Wasu Duta. “This is our lands, and it was taken from us. Go in peace in a good way, and I hope that they’ll find it in their hearts to be able to come down here, to have a true understanding of what it means to be a people of the land.”