Phalen Creek Nibi Walk

Join the Minnesota Humanities Center and its “We Are Water MN” partners, the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment and the River Life Program, and the Lower Phalen Creek Project in learning more from Phalen Creek. The Nibi Walk program of the Indigenous People’s Task Force, led by Sharon Day, will lead us in a Nibi walk: an Indigenous-led, extended ceremony to pray for the water. Every step is taken in prayer and gratitude for water, our life giving force. The walk begins at the headwaters, Lake Phalen, and will wind through East Saint Paul and Lowertown to the mouth of the creek, at the Mississippi River. This event has two parts: on October 6 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., walkers will learn more about the Dakota history of the creek, the ecological impacts of and to the creek, and about the Nibi Walk protocols; on October 27 from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., the actual walk will occur, followed immediately by lunch and a reflection activity. In order to participate in the walk on October 27, it is necessary to participate in the orientation on October 6.