| A national wildlife refuge in Minnesota opens a new amphitheater honoring the site’s Indigenous history. |
| Just southeast of St. Cloud, the sound of drums under a clear blue sky gave friends and supporters of the Sherburne Wildlife Refuge a perfect day to gather and celebrate the unveiling of a new Amphitheater. The amphitheater, which had been in the works for five years, incorporates Indigenous artwork to recognize the ancestral lands of the Dakota and Anishinaabe people. Bearpaw Shields, who is both Dakota and Nakota, is a board member of the Friends of Sherburne Wildlife Refuge, has been a driving force of the project. Bearpaw Shields: We wanted a place where we could have, whether it’s nature shows, and then I then inserted, “Well, we can also– it’d be a good place to have powwows, or we could have some indigenous people come on here too, as well.” Chandra Colvin: She has been volunteering at the refuge for eight years now. The “Friends” program is completely volunteer based and as an educator, this was an important task to undertake. Bearpaw Shields: I think that representation matters, and for us Native peoples in Minnesota, and I think this is the first step having representation to let everybody know that we are here and we’re beautiful people, and we’re not going to go anywhere. We’re beautiful people. This is a great place for people to learn and get educated. Colvin: Shields says that she hopes this amphitheater will inspire other “Friends” programs to take those steps in acknowledging the Indigenous land they are on. The program extends across the United States with various cohorts at national refuges and parks. Giizh Agaton Howes from Fond du Lac and owner of Heart Berry, and Holly Young from Standing Rock, are the artists behind the mural engraved against the Amphitheater’s stone seating and circular center. Agaton Howes: Holly Young and I collaborated to create a Dakota and Ojibwe design that incorporates both the indigenous animals of this area and the animals that we would like to be returning to the area. Colvin: The animals are depicted with a thunderbolt through their bodies, which Agaton Howes says represents their life force. According to Agaton Howes, thunder is a gift in Ojibwe culture and the animals are gifts of life. Agaton Howes: They’re all done in Ojibwe style, what we call “X-ray” style. In the center is a traditional tobacco or SEMA plant that we use for prayer, and it’s oriented in the four cardinal directions to really represent the idea of, like, sending out our good thoughts, our good prayers, however you think of that, in all the directions. We also wanted this space to be fun and functional, so that kids could come here and they would like to jump on stuff and run around along the lines, and be a space that people would feel comfortable using. Colvin: Shields says the refuge provides educational opportunities at its education center or in the field. Bearpaw Shields: I think because of the atrocities that happened to our children, I think it’s important for children to use this as an educational platform. Colvin: Education is not the amphitheater’s only goal. Agaton Howes says its creation is a continuation of culture. Agaton Howes: I was super excited because I love the idea of creating really permanent places where we’re telling Ojibwe and Dakota stories and really highlighting those stories, so I was all about it. And I also really love that they wanted to incorporate our languages here. They were very like “just throw us some ideas.” Which I love as an artist – to be able to throw my ideas out there. Colvin: For Minnesota Native News, I’m Chandra Colvin |
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