Indigenous Plant Arboretum at Pond Dakota Mission Park

The Indigenous Plant Arboretum is being coordinated by Cânté Sütá-Francis Bettelyoun, a Lakota expert on Indigenous plants, food ecosystems, and sustainable land based practices. He is the former director of the Native American Medicine Garden on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota.

The Bloomington Public Schools American Indian Education Program is a partner on the project. The Indigenous Plant Arboretum will provide a variety of learning opportunities for students and teachers. Students and parents will work alongside a Native Knowledge Keeper to learn about and plants and harvest both perennials and annuals that are native to Minnesota. 

Once established, the garden will be a learning space for all residents providing both a window and a mirror for the Indigenous community and Bloomington residents. The garden will be tended by volunteers and students throughout the summer of 2025 and beyond. 

Activity, events and opportunities at the Indigenous Plant Arboretum will vary by season. 

• Spring:  Planting and tending.
• Summer:  Tending and harvesting.
• Fall:  Harvesting, meal sharing and soil prep.
• Winter:  Storytelling about our plant relatives, food prep and meal sharing utilizing the harvest.

The ultimate goal for the Indigenous Plant Arboretum is to provide immersive opportunities for learning about native plants and sustainable harvesting, including: 

• Demonstrating the steps to create a food ecosystem by fully engaging community members with work on the garden. This will teach easily replicated land, water and environmental practices. 
• Teaching the important bidirectional relationship humans have with Mother Earth and all living things through Indigenous, land-based practices. 
• Learning about the edible perennial plants that are Indigenous to this land, and which once created a thriving food source that sustained Indigenous people from year to year. 

This workshop introduced the creation of the Indigenous Plant Arboretum at Pond Dakota Mission Park, Indigenous practice of land care, the vision of this area in the future and a deeper discussion of Mitakuye Oyasin (We are All Related) and our relationship with Unci Maka (Grandmother Earth). 

Volunteer opportunities at the arboretum were discussed.

This workshop taught Indigenous knowledge on Gardening and Food Ecosystems, Plant and Soil Knowledge (including usage, identification, harvesting, processing and storage, and care), History of the Pond House and Land Base of the Ocheti Sakowin, Treaties and U.S. Policies that affect Indigenous Sovereignty, Civic Engagement and Volunteering. 

A Plant Walk was part of the workshop and attendees also helped prepare mulch for future walkways.