By K.E. MacPhie

January is called Witeḣi Wi or “The Time of Hardship Moon” in the Dakota language. So what a bright and wonderful idea it was to offer people some space for connection and celebration for the season at the Wazíya Winter-Wind Celebration at Battle Creek Recreation Center on Saturday, January 11  in St. Paul. This event brought together Dakota ancestral teachings, modern Indigenous artistry, and community-building activities to honor winter’s beauty and cultural significance.

Tanaǧidaŋ To Wiŋ (Tara Perron), coordinated the event alongside Dakóta artist, Marlena Myles, as a way to honor the four seasons and traditional Dakóta culture in a way that seamlessly brought together our ancestral teachings, modern Indigenous artists, and community-building activities that celebrated winter and what it means to people who have called this area home for thousands of years.

Tara and Marlena not only coordinated, but also participated in the day as local artisans. Tara owns and operates Blue Hummingbird Woman, an Indigenous gift shop with real estate in the skyways of St. Paul (30 7th St. Ste. 285) and a regular community presence at Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center (790 7th St. E.) and throughout the community at events like this. She is best known for her teas, but sells other items and at the event, she featured the book The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson, who also attended and read a chapter of her book.

Marlena, a local mixed-media artist, provided coloring sheets for kids and adults alike to interact and learn about the seasonal celebration in both low-tech and she debuted her latest augmented reality experience: Discover the power of Wazíya, the Dakota Winter Wind.

Walking into the space, we were greeted by the smell of bison stew, provided by Tara’s son as a fundraiser for the urban homeless Native encampment, Camp Nenookaasi. The hearty soup served as a great complement to the winter theme.

Around the gym space were many of the Native vendors selling jewelry, soap, art, candles, clothes, and everything in between. Native and non-Native visitors perused the vendors and purchased local items. I bought a candle, a card, and some new earrings.

Outside, the fun spilled over. Heather Friedli created one of her iconic snow sculptures live, showcasing winter’s stunning beauty, just outside the window of the vendor area, between the indoors and the cross country skiing area. Trickster Tacos showed up in the parking lot to serve all visitors of the center, as I saw some come into the event, but others grab a taco and go skiing! And the Battle Creek Rec Director generously allowed guests of the Wazíya Winter-Wind Celebration free rentals for skis, sleds, kicksleds, snowshoes, and other rec gear.

Dawí Westerman occupied a space in the vendor area to construct traditional Dakota snowshoes. He talked through his process and answered questions from the crowd about how the old ways and new snowshoe engineering can combine to create durable, traditional, and beautiful snowshoes for weather like this.

Plants were also front and center at the event. Fern Renville explored the wisdom of Dakota winter plants through craft and storytelling. She had a large table near the front to discuss Native plants and various care and uses for them using traditional ecological knowledge. Diane Wilson also took time during the introduction to read a chapter from her new book, The Seed Keeper, a novel that showcases the strength of Dakota women and their connection to the land.

But the most exciting development from the event was learning that they are planning more events like this throughout the year. Every season will have their own Dakota celebration thanks to a pilot initiative called the Minnesota Parks Artist-in-Residence (MNPAiR) program, launched in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Parks and Trails Division, the Metropolitan Council, Metropolitan Regional Parks, the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission, and Forecast Public Art. Battle Creek Park, in partnership with Ramsey County Parks & Recreation, will host Marlena and Tara throughout the year as they continue to develop contemporary Indigenous artistry with the Dakota seasonal ways of life.

For information on their spring event,  follow Blue Hummingbird Woman (bluehummingbirdwoman.com) and Marlena Myles (marlenamyl.es), or Forecast Public Art (forecastpublicart.org).