Wakan Tipi Center
Project Specs
Overall Project Size
- 7,150 Square Feet
Client
Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi
Architect
Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design, Cuningham
Services
Markets
Restoring scared land
Rockwise provided comprehensive estimating services, from pre-design to construction documents, as well as constructability analysis, phasing strategies, and scheduling assistance for Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi. The center, now under construction, will feature an exhibit hall, classrooms, ceremonial spaces, kitchens, and gardens, serving as an intergenerational gathering place honoring this sacred site.
Historically, this area was a vibrant floodplain on the Mississippi River, known to the Dakota as Imnizaska (white bluffs). Significant sites include Wakan Tipi (Carvers Cave) within Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary and the Dakota burial mounds in Indian Mounds Regional Park. Documented by Jonathan Carver in 1766-1767, this area was rich in natural beauty and Dakota rock art.
Following settlement, the area became industrialized, leading to environmental degradation and the destruction of cultural landmarks. Over time, it turned into an abandoned, polluted dump.
Wakaŋ Tipi Awaŋyaŋkapi led an eight-year, $10 million effort to reclaim and restore the site. Now a 27-acre urban sanctuary, it provides critical wildlife habitat and a public nature sanctuary, serving as the main site for WTA’s cultural and environmental programs.