The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) has made the definitive move to sever ties with a controversial historical figure by stripping Henry Hastings Sibley's name from a South Minneapolis park. According to a recent press release, the board's commissioners voted during their meeting on Wednesday to rehabilitate the park's identity to more closely reflect contemporary values.
The history of this park, located at 1900 East 40th Street at Longfellow Avenue, has been hotly debated since 2016, when local students and neighbors called to quickly replace the existing name due to Sibley's role in historic violence against the Dakota people. This campaign urged the MPRB to consider the corrosive effects that such a name might have on community inclusivity and engagement.
In the wake of community engagement that started back in 2021 and corresponded with an improvement project, the MPRB once had considered “Chanté T’ínza Wínyan Park” for the new name in 2023. The board, however, pivoted away from this after speaking with Indigenous advisors who requested a deeper and more refined consultation process for Indigenous names. As a consequence, the interim designation is now simply "40th Street Park," reflective of nothing more or less than its street address.
A public event slated for May will celebrate this pivot in park nomenclature at 40th Street Park, as per the MPRB. Although specifics are not yet finalized, community members can expect an official announcement soon detailing the date and the nature of the event.
