Coldwater Spring/Bureau of Mines Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 2006

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area web site has a set of web pages titled the Bureau of Mines (Coldwater) Current Status [...]]]> Earlier this evening, I attended the Coldwater Spring open house at the VA Hospital hosted by National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff. (See my January blog post for details.)

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area web site has a set of web pages titled the Bureau of Mines (Coldwater) Current Status that contains some of the information and images/PDFs that were on display at tonight’s open house.

See the album of two dozen photos from the Coldwater Spring open house, or this slideshow:

She wrote: “Attached is the announcement of the public open house for the Camp Coldwater Spring, the property formerly known as the Bureau of Mines.”

See my Dec. blog post National Park Service [...]]]> I got this information (PDF) emailed to me today by Denise Niedzolkowski, Public Relations Specialist and Executive Assistant, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

She wrote: “Attached is the announcement of the public open house for the Camp Coldwater Spring, the property formerly known as the Bureau of Mines.”

See my Dec. blog post National Park Service recommended to manage Coldwater Spring site for background.

Here’s the text of the Coldwater Spring Open House announcement PDF (I’ve added the photo of Superintendent Paul Labovitz):

January 22, 2009

Please provide an email address for future contact if at all possible. This measure saves paper and minimizes the cost of personnel and postage. Your information will be used for the sole purpose of communicating with you about the Bureau of Mines/Cold Water Springs. You can send that information to denise_niedzolkowski@nps.gov.

Dear Interested Party,

In our letter of December 3, 2008, we told you public meetings would be conducted in the winter and spring of 2009 to help determine some of the details for restoration of the site.

An informational open house has been scheduled to give the public an opportunity to provide comment on planning for the reuse and restoration of federal property formally occupied by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines.

The open house will be held Monday February 23, 2009 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the auditorium on the first floor of the VA Hospital, located at One Veterans Drive in Minneapolis.

National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff will be available to provide information concerning the DEIS preferred alternative, historical preservation and interpretation, and to gather input to guide planning for the future reuse and restoration of the site.

Sincerely,

Paul Labovitz
Superintendent

Now comes word that the National Park Service (NPS) will likely manage the site as part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.  The public planning process will begin soon with a Final Environmental Impact Statement [...]]]>
I first blogged about Coldwater Spring back in April and several times since then.

Now comes word that the National Park Service (NPS) will likely manage the site as part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.  The public planning process will begin soon with a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) completed by next summer.

Paul Labovitz, NPS Superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, sent this email to the Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition last week where it’s posted on their website:

OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
111 Kellogg Boulevard E, Suite 105 Saint Paul, Minnesota 55101

NO HARD COPY WILL FOLLOW

December 3, 2008

Dear friends:

It has been two years since the public comment period ended concerning the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Disposition of the Bureau of Mines Property, Twin Cities Research Center Main Campus in Hennepin County near Fort Snelling, Minnesota. The campus lies entirely within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. The Department of the Interior has selected its preferred alternative for disposition of the property and the purpose of this letter is to inform you of that decision and lay out the next steps for the campus.

The 27-acre property is owned by the U.S. government and would remain in federal ownership under Interior’s preferred alternative. The property will be restored to a condition that emphasizes its ecological and historical significance, with all buildings, driveways, roads and other infrastructure removed.

The National Park Service will lead a public planning process to help determine the exact nature of the site’s restoration, including restoration of Coldwater Spring. This will include completion of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) concerning the property’s future. Once that document is complete, the Department of the Interior will issue its final decision about the future of the property. Based on information obtained in completing the FEIS, that decision could be somewhat different than the preferred alternative

Public meetings will be conducted in the winter and spring of 2009 to help determine some of the details for restoration of the site. The FEIS will be completed by summer 2009. Assuming the final decision is no different than the preferred alternative, demolition of the buildings and physical restoration of the site may begin as soon as fall 2009 and will likely be completed by the end of the 2010 construction season. At that time, the National Park Service will assume responsibility for the site. An interpretive plan for the site will be completed in late 2009 or early 2010.

Once the planning tasks are completed, the National Park Service will work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on managing the contracts for demolition of the buildings and restoration of the site. Once the site has been restored, long-term management of the property will be the responsibility of the National Park Service.

This site holds great significance for American Indian people, for its role in early European settlement of the region, and for its 20th Century role in development of mining and mine safety technology. I am excited that this site will be preserved and managed by the National Park Service and we will be able to tell the many stories of this site to present and future generations of Americans.

Questions about the next steps in the planning process should be directed to Steve Johnson of my staff at 651-290-3030 x223 or steven_p_johnson@nps.gov.

Sincerely,

/s/ Paul Labovitz

Paul Labovitz Superintendent

See the media coverage:

• StarTribune: Coldwater Spring to become parkland
• Pioneer Press: National Park Service to restore land near Fort Snelling Land near Fort Snelling includes spring
• MPR: National Park Service to restore land near Ft. Snelling

and the NPS press release (PDF – full text below):

National Park Service to manage Coldwater Spring site

Abandoned federal property along the Mississippi River near Fort Snelling should be managed by the National Park Service as part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, federal officials have announced.

Paul Labovitz, NPS Superintendent for the Mississippi River, said the property would be cleared of its abandoned buildings and restored to natural conditions. This includes restoration of Coldwater Spring, a significant site in American history that is located on the property.

“This site holds great significance for American Indian people, for its role in early European settlement of the region, and for its 20th Century role in development of mining and mine safety technology. I am excited that this site will be preserved and managed by the National Park Service and we will be able to tell the many stories of this site to present and future generations of Americans,” Labovitz said.

The property is adjacent to Highway 55 and lies just south of Minnehaha Falls Regional Park and just west of the Mississippi River. For decades it was a research campus of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, a federal agency closed by the government in the mid-1990s.

The 27-acre site is within the Fort Snelling National Historic Landmark and Coldwater Spring on the site was the primary water supply for the soldiers that build the fort in the early 19th Century and for the subsequent expanded fort itself well into the 20th Century.

The National Park Service began a planning process in 2004 to determine the future of the site, but that process went dormant following publication of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in 2006. The Department of the Interior, which owns the site, concluded last week that future management of the site should fall to the National Park Service.

Interior’s action was formally to select site restoration and NPS management as its “preferred alternative” as preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) goes forward.

Interior’s decision could technically change following publication of the Final EIS and won’t be final until publication of a Record of Decision next year, but Labovitz said Interior has clearly set the direction for the property’s future. E X P E RI EN C E YOU R AMER I CA T M The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

“That decision is logical,” said Superintendent Labovitz, “since the site lies within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and since the National Park Service is exceptionally qualified to interpret the rich history of this site.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been responsible for day-to-day management of the site since the Bureau of Mines closed and will manage contracts to demolish the buildings and restore the site to natural conditions. Site restoration should be completed by the fall of 2010, Labovitz said.

See the album of 13 photos or this slideshow [...]]]> I took photos and captured the audio of speakers at last Friday’s press conference at Coldwater Spring. See these two articles in the Strib for more info:

• Strib, Sept. 5: Occupation of park site expected to end today 
• Strib, Sept. 6: Dakota leave Coldwater Spring site after four days

See the album of 13 photos or this slideshow (audio below):

The permit that Dakota Indians protesting in Minneapolis were given — but didn’t ask for — expires this afternoon. The two dozen or so protesters erected two teepees and a couple of modern-day tents Tuesday in a bid to reclaim land for the Dakota. But [...]]]> In today’s Strib: Conflict looms as Indians’ protest permit expires today.

The permit that Dakota Indians protesting in Minneapolis were given — but didn’t ask for — expires this afternoon. The two dozen or so protesters erected two teepees and a couple of modern-day tents Tuesday in a bid to reclaim land for the Dakota. But the showdown on the abandoned federal land near Minnehaha Park was put off when federal officials issued a four-day permit.

Mona Smith has 3 photo albums of the Coldwater occupation posted to her gallery. And on her Allies YouTube page she has two videos of the occupation:

Here’s the press release posted to the MINN-IND email list:

Reclaim Camp Coldwater! Support the B’Dote Defenders!

Please Forward Widely:

On Tuesday September 2nd, Members of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires) of the Dakota Oyate reoccupied Coldwater Spring and the surrounding land. The Coldwater Spring site is an abandoned property of the defunct Bureau of Mines. As Dakota people who consider the spring as essential to our spiritual lifeway and the surrounding land as a part of our homeland of Bdote, we believe that we will be better stewards of the land than either the United States or the State of Minnesota has been. This is evidenced in the fact that the site is littered with dilapidated structures and the soil is polluted from the former Bureau of Mines.

We launched the reclamation of this sacred site with four days of ceremonies to celebrate the seasonal transition from summer to fall. While we did not ask for a permit for the four days, the property manager Robert Hanson has given us one. Despite our permit and the ceremonies that are happening on site, we have experienced heavy surveillance by Homeland Security, Hennepin County Sheriffs, and riot-police from various police agencies.

The four-day permit is due to expire tomorrow, September 5th at 3:00 pm. We will be holding a press conference on September 5th at 2:00 pm at Coldwater Spring. We invite all people to come at this time and show support for the Dakota people and our rights to both land and life.

As Dakota people, we have both a legal and a moral right to the spring and the surrounding land. We are calling on the Department of the Interior to fully restore Dakota rights to the land and to conduct a clean-up of the site, including removing dilapidated structures and restoring the land to its previously pristine condition.

We intend to make use of the site as was meant for Dakota and other Native Nations. We intend to conduct ceremonies as have been previously done at this sacred site. We intend to establish a youth camp and a space for cultural teaching, including transmission of the Dakota language. And we intend to establish gardens to distribute traditional foods to our elders once a clean-up of the site has occurred.

Directions to Camp Coldwater: From Highway 55, turn east at 54th Street and then turn right (south) on the frontage road. Proceed one block to the Bureau of Mines front gate. Go through the gate and continue heading south one more block.

For further information, contact Jim Anderson (612-910-0730), Chris Mato Nunpa (320-981-0206), or Waziyatawin (320-444-5643).

For information on support and supplies, contact Diane Elliott (651-983-6363)

The photo on the left is from when I visited again in June. (Click to enlarge.)

In today’s Strib: Permit delays Dakota fight for Coldwater Spring site.

Organizers said they don’t plan to leave after the [...]]]> Back in April, I blogged about the importance of Coldwater Spring and posted a photo album of the site in winter.

The photo on the left is from when I visited again in June. (Click to enlarge.)

In today’s Strib: Permit delays Dakota fight for Coldwater Spring site.

Organizers said they don’t plan to leave after the permit expires, and that’s when a confrontation could come. They said they will maintain the occupation until Dakota rights to the land are fully restored and the federal government cleans up toxic waste on the 28-acre site.

Here are the press releases that were posted to the MINN-IND email list:

CAMP COLDWATER, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA—On Tuesday, September 2, members of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires) of the Dakota Oyate are reclaiming Coldwater Spring and the surrounding land.  As the Original People of Minisota Makoce (Land Where the Waters Reflect the Skies), Dakota people are claiming their inherent right to their sacred sites as well as the rights preserved in the Treaty of 1805.

According to the original treaty that Zebulon Pike negotiated with the Dakota in 1805, “The United States promise on their part to permit the Sioux the pass, repass, hunt or make other uses of the said districts, as they have formerly done, without any other exception, but those specified in article first.”  The “Sioux Nation,” (including the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota Peoples) thus maintain these rights in the ceded territory, which includes the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, covering an estimated 155,000 acres.  Yet, the United States government did not fulfill even the meager terms of the treaty, a payment of approximately a penny an acre, to the Dakota people.  This calls into the question the legitimacy of the United States government and the State of Minnesota to occupy this land base.

Dakota people will launch the reclamation of Coldwater Spring with four days of ceremonies.  They then plan to maintain an occupation of the site until Dakota rights to the land are fully restored and the federal government conducts a clean-up of the site, removing the toxic structures and restoring the land its previously pristine condition.

For further information, contact Jim Anderson (612-910-0730), Chris Mato Nunpa (320-981-0206), or Waziyatawin (320-444-5643).

====

REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE:

Members of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires) of the Dakota Oyate have reoccupied Coldwater Spring and the surrounding land. We are launching the reclamation of this sacred site within our homeland of Bdote with four days of ceremonies.  We plan to maintain an occupation of the site until Dakota rights to the land are fully restored and the federal government conducts a clean-up of the site, removing the toxic structures and restoring the land its previously pristine condition.

The Coldwater Spring site is an abandoned property of the defunct Bureau of Mines. As Dakota people who consider the spring to contain the water spirit Unktehi, consider the spring and surrounding land as essential to our spiritual lifeway, and consider the land within our homeland of Bdote we believe that we will be better stewards of the land than either the United States or the State of Minnesota has been. This is evidenced in the fact that the site is littered with toxic structures and the soil is polluted from the former Bureau of Mines.

Our intention is to make use of the site as was meant for Dakota and other Native Nations. We intend to conduct ceremonies as have been previously done. We also intend to establish a space for cultural teachings to be transmitted, including the Dakota language. And we hope to establish traditional gardens and a youth camp once the federal government conducts a clean-up of the site.

- We are requesting assistance from Native Warriors and Veterens to maintain the occupation.

-We are calling on support from our Native youth to help out with security.

- We are requesting assistance from Drum Groups.

- We are requesting a show of solidarity from supporters at the site on Tusday 9/2, at 2:30 pm

- We are requesting supplies including: dry foods, walkie-talkies, batteries, firewood, toilet paper, hardware/tools, medicines, tobacco, sage, cedar, sweetgrass, money, volunteers, support

For further information, contact Jim Anderson (612-910-0730), Chris Mato Nunpa (320-981-0206), or Waziyatawin (320-444-5643).

For information on support and supplies, contact Diane Elliott (651-983-6363)

My wife Robbie and I spent a couple hours at the end of the day on Sunday at the Minnesota Historical Society’s Lower Sioux Agency historic site:

Established by the U.S. government in 1853 as an administrative center, the Agency became the scene of the first organized attack in the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War.

We spent [...]]]>

My wife Robbie and I spent a couple hours at the end of the day on Sunday at the Minnesota Historical Society’s Lower Sioux Agency historic site:

Established by the U.S. government in 1853 as an administrative center, the Agency became the scene of the first organized attack in the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War.

We spent most of our time in the Lower Sioux Agency interpretive center exhibit. A sign inside (above photo) at the entrance reads:

THIS EXHIBIT WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE ASSISTANCE OF DAKOTA ADVISORS

Ernest and Vernell Wabasha, Lower Sioux Community
Joe Campbell, Prairie Island Indian Community
Harold St. Clair, Upper Sioux Community
Glynn Crooks, Shakopee Sioux Community

AND THE SUPPORT OF MINNESOTA’S FOUR FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED DAKOTA COMMUNITIES

Lower Sioux Community Tribal Council
Roger Prescott, Chair

Prairie Island Indian Community Tribal Council
Audrey Kohnen, President

Upper Sioux Community Tribal Council
Dallas Ross, Chair

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Tribal Council
Stanley Crooks, Chair

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Archives Staff
Jim Warren, Archivist

June, 2000

The displays in the Lower Sioux Agency interpretive center exhibit are impressive. My only complaint is that the MNHS web page for the exhibit gives no clue at how impressive it is. People checking it out the web site before deciding to visit could benefit from more visuals.

See the album of 100+ photos or this slideshow:

On Sunday we stopped at the Renville County Historical Museum in Morton, MN and met volunteers Chris Hettig and Steve Hettig (right photo, click to enlarge). They’re standing in front of a display about Joseph Renville, my great, great, great grandfather. Chris showed me a folder of miscellaneous research papers and newspaper clippings [...]]]>  

On Sunday we stopped at the Renville County Historical Museum in Morton, MN and met volunteers Chris Hettig and Steve Hettig (right photo, click to enlarge). They’re standing in front of a display about Joseph Renville, my great, great, great grandfather. Chris showed me a folder of miscellaneous research papers and newspaper clippings about Joseph Renville.

In the museum gift shop, I browsed through their booklet, Historic sites of the Conflict of 1862, described as

… a self guided tour to the historic sites of the 1862 Conflict in the Renville County area.

It includes old and new photos of each site along with directions and the historical significance of the site, the people involved, and personal stories told by survivors.

Page 6 of the booklet (left photo) features the Loyal (Faithful) Indians Monument, and when Chris noticed me reading it, she told me that it was located just up the hill above Morton, along with the Birch Cooley (Coulee) Monument. We drove up Monument Drive to take a look it (center).

The words ‘Patriotism, Courage, Fidelity, and Humanity’ are on the four sides of the monument and on the ‘Humanity’ side, the inscription (right photo) reads:

Erected A. D. 1899 by the Minnesota Valley Historical Society to commemorate the brave, faithful, and humane conduct of the loyal Indians who saved the lives of white people and were true to their obligations throughout the Sioux War in Minnesota of 1862 and especially to honor the services of those here named.

Other Day – Ampatutokicha
Paul – Mahzakutemanne
Lorenzo Lawrence – Towanetaton
Simon – Anahwangmanne
Mary Crooks – Mahkahta Heiya win,
Maggie Brass – Snana win

My initial impression wasn’t good. The MNHS marker for Fort Ridgely (left center photo) at the entrance paints a [...]]]> My wife and I camped at Fort Ridgely State Park last weekend so we could visit the MNHS Fort Ridgely Historic Site within the park, as well as other historic sites in the area.

My initial impression wasn’t good. The MNHS marker for Fort Ridgely (left center photo) at the entrance paints a one-sided view:

When the Sioux Uprising began in 1862, Fort Ridgely assumed great importance as the only military post in the valley and a vital defense point against the Indians.

Likewise, the Fort Ridgely State Monument in the center of the grounds:

… the Sioux indians of the Upper Minnesota river, in violation of their treaties, broke into open rebellion, and within a few days thereafter, massacred about one thousand citizens…

But given that the monument was erected in 1896 and the MNHS marker in 1971, it’s not surprising. 

These two large markers (above) near the flagpole tell a more balanced story of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

And once inside the visitor’s center, a much more complete picture of the war emerges.

I thought these war-related storyboards were well done but the story was incomplete… nothing about trials of the captured Indians, the mass execution at Mankato, the forced march of 1800 women and children to the concentration camp at Fort Snelling, nor the ethnic cleansing of the Dakota from the state. However…

this display told the story of how Henry Sibley and others pursued the fleeing Dakota into the western Dakotas and slaughtered them.

The MNHS has a page on its website about Fort Ridgely but there’s very little information there, just three short paragraphs of text. There’s no link but digging deeper into the MNHS website, I found a ‘media room’ set of pages on Fort Ridgely that has more information… but still, nothing close to what’s at the historic site itself.