Story Map Discussion Guide

What did you learn about the area where your Community- Engaged Learning site is located?
What forms of resistance to power do you see on the map? How do systems in power maintain their power?
Why does the information presented in the map continue to be relevant today?

The Dakota in the Twin Cities

Why do you think most of this information is not well known in the Twin Cities? What systems of power contribute to the spread of knowledge?
Settler Colonialism is a continued process of the erasure of indigenous presence by colonizers. In what ways do you see the continued process of erasure in the sites on the map?
The name of Bde Maka Ska was recently changed from the name given by surveyors, Lake Calhoun. What significance do you think both of these changes, from Bde Maka Ska to Lake Calhoun, and from Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska, have?

North Minneapolis

Plymouth Avenue was the site of protests during the long hot summer of 1967, and one of the theories for the spark of the protests was police brutality. Keith Mayes is quoted as saying, “I wish I could tell you there were differences between the 1960s and today, when it comes to police incidents, but it’s the same.” Reflect on this quote. What do you think this signifies about the nature of these issues?
The Way Community Center was built as a community-driven response to these protests. Now, The Way site is the site of the 4th precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department. After protests of another police killing, “one of the demands made by Black Lives Matter activists was for The Way Community Center to be returned to the people of the Near North Side neighborhood.” Reflect on this from a social justice lens as well as its symbolism.
The American Indian Movement (AIM) started in Minneapolis. What parallels do you see between AIM and other social movements?

Rondo/St. Paul

Prior to reading: What do you know about Rondo? Where did you learn that?
I-94 was routed through the heart of Rondo. Reflect on what this meant for the community. Discuss the Reconnect Rondo Campaign. How is it connected to social justice?
What role, if any, do you think the government should have in the Reconnect Rondo project? Why?

University of Minnesota

What did you know previously about the funding of the University? If you knew about these funding streams previously, where did you learn about it? If not, why do you think it is not talked about?
What is the importance of the African American, Chicano and Latino, American Indian, and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies departments within the context of academia?
Think back to the first section, “Bdote: Dakota in the Twin Cities.” Discuss the Land Grant, Land Grab history of the University in conversation with the information in the first section.
What differences do you see between the process of renaming K-12 school buildings and the University of Minnesota’s process of name change?