Occupation of park site expected to end today

A Dakota occupation of the Coldwater Spring site near Minnehaha Park is expected to reach a peaceful end today.

Chris Mato Nunpa, one of the protest organizers, confirmed that the protesters would leave between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. He said protesters felt they had made their point and didn't have to stay longer.

"We're going to leave at one o'clock or two o'clock and proclaim victory," Mato Nunpa said.

The Dakota occupied the property Tuesday, hoping to reclaim it for their tribe or force a confrontation while trying.

But federal officials disrupted that plan from the start, granting a permit for the occupation, even though protesters hadn't requested one. The letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allowed protesters to remain at the site until 3 p.m. Friday, said Jason Holm, Midwest external affairs director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We've been out and visited, and we respect anybody's right to peacefully assemble and honor their cultural beliefs," Holm said. "There were no real problems that were going on."

At a news conference earlier Friday, the protest's organizers defended their claim to the Coldwater Spring site, which is sacred to them. They also discussed the treatment of American Indians over the past two centuries.

"We're asking for this land back," said Jim Anderson, cultural chairman for the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community and one of the protest's organizers.

"We want to turn this into a place of healing, which it always was. We're going to continue to be here," he said.

Anderson said he had been told the gates to the site would close at 3 p.m. Friday. A group of about 75 people waited for the confrontation, including the Dakotas occupying the site and others, mostly white, who had come in support.

Speakers talked about honoring an 1805 treaty with the Sioux Nation and the role the United Nations could play in resolving conflicts with indigenous peoples. They also proposed an alternate use for the site, as an educational center operated by the Dakota tribe.

"It would be a shining star of the Twin Cities," said Bill Means, a founder of the International Indian Treaty Council. "They could come to a beautiful building ... and learn about the indigenous peoples of Minnesota."

Minneapolis City Council Member Cam Gordon also spoke in support of the Dakota. "I think we've found a solution," he said, referring to the group's suggestion to use the land for educational purposes. "I hope we can use this opportunity to accomplish that."

Staff writer Norm Draper contributed to this report. Libby Nelson • 612-673-4758