Wakpada: Honoring Native Communities in Mixed-Use Development

While the presentation will provide examples of how to successfully honor Native communities as part of a development, it will also demonstrate how planning for diversity, equity, and inclusion should not be one-size-fits-all since it must be based in authenticity, listening, and collaboration. The audience will gain insights into a grassroots approach to outreach and engagement with indigenous communities. Panelists will discuss their personal perspectives on the partnership, how they navigated conflicting feedback and varied reactions from other community members, and how the developer gauged potential risks by investing in this unconventional approach.

Panelists will share the many context-sensitive techniques that they implemented to bolster the Dakota language and Indigenous values in the Wakpada project, including public art, audio recordings, the building name (which means “creek”), a land acknowledgement ceremony, sustainability features, applying a racial and gender equity lens to the building’s ownership structure, a donation to the National Forest Foundation, and even pursuing certain commercial uses and tenants over others.

This session will inspire participants to think deeply and creatively about the big and small steps they can take to advance equitable outcomes in their professional and personal lives.

Access this session with closed captions (Wordly)