February 3, 2021

Mayor Roe and Roseville City Council Members:

This letter has been written on behalf of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors Group (MUID) – a collaborative of over twenty-five American Indian organizations operating within the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minnesota (please see the attached organizational listing).

This letter is written in support of Roseville Parks and Recreation Commission’s proposed Pocahontas Park Name - Community Engagement and Analysis Plan introduced to the City Council on January 25th, 2021, with the ultimate goal of renaming Pocahontas Park.

Metro Urban Indian Directors (MUID) is a network of Native-led organizations serving the Urban Indian Community in the Twin Cities. Nearly 30 years ago, the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID) group was formed by Executive Directors of American Indian organizations in Minneapolis to support each other in their work providing services to the American Indian Community. Today, the work of MUID is supported by a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Minneapolis and a Memorandum of Agreement with Minneapolis Public Schools.

MUID supports the renaming of Pocahontas Park for many reasons. First and foremost, Pocahontas did not come from a tribal nation affiliated with what is now known as the state of Minnesota, but from the Pamunkey Tribe of what is now known as the state of Virginia. Additionally, Pocahontas has been over sexualized and stereotypically used in media in ways that degrade Native women and feeds into the harmful stereotypes of sex servitude, exotic fetishism, and sexual violence. This is illustrated by the current crisis of our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Finally, renaming this park provides an opportunity to truly honor this place with a name that centers around the landscape and/or the original people of the land where this park is situated. The renaming process also serves as an opportunity for education and collaboration.

Renaming local sites with processes and names that truly honor and involve the original people of this land is a powerful action of reconciliation. By naming or renaming places with Indigenous place names, the original people of this land can reclaim their relationship to these spaces that hold their cultures and languages, which have barely survived government imposed forced assimilation and genocide. Indigenous place names can represent important historical events and legal principles, such as the case with some creation stories. They can convey important features of the site and teachings on how to live in good relations with others and the land. There is a strong connection between the re-establishment of Indigenous place names, and the revitalization of Indigenous languages and cultures.

In an effort to support this re-naming process, MUID is happy to make the following recommendations for engaging the Native American community in this process:

● Connect with local, federally recognized Dakota communities (Prairie Island Indian Community, Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community, Lower Sioux Indian Community, Upper Sioux Community) to share work to date and garner feedback

● Connect with urban American Indian groups like MUID, Saint Paul Indians in Action (SIA), and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council Urban Indian Advisory Board to share work to date and garner feedback

● Connect with your local Roseville school district’s American Indian education department and staff

● Formation of a Native-led park name recommendation committee with stipends that honor the time and knowledge of committee members (interested individuals may be identified through the above engagement process)

We thank you for the work you are doing in your community to make this park a place that is welcoming to all members of the Roseville community and its visitors.

Pidamaya yedo/Miigwech/Wibthaha/Pinigigi/Thank you,

Letter Authors:

Maggie Lorenz
Executive Director - Lower Phalen Creek Project and Wakan Tipi Center

Marisa Cummings
President/CEO - Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC)

SIGNED BY THE FULL MUID MEMBERSHIP

 Click here to view news coverage on this request.