By Gwen Westerman   NOTE: This post is from the 2023 Wakpa Triennial Festival. To see information about the 2026 Wakpa Triennial Festival, visit: https://publicartstpaul.org/103672-2/   Wakpa. The Dakota word for “river.” But it is more than a word. Wakpa is the source of life. Rivers carry our first medicine, mni, that can nourish and…

By Diane Wilson Dip a paddle into Ȟaȟáwakpa, the Mississippi River, and feel how effortlessly she guides a canoe downstream. Beneath the boat swim hundreds of named fish, eluding the river otters, ospreys, and humans casting for food. Gaze skyward in spring to see a river of birds following this flyway home. Their long journeys…

By Jonathan Palmer Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny….