Wakan Tipi Center

Located at the entrance of the Wakaŋ Típi nature sanctuary in Saint. Paul, Minnesota, Wakan Tipi Center is a learning environment rooted in Dakota cultural values, aesthetics, and traditions that creates space for cultural connections and healing through the arts and nature.

The sanctuary, blighted by a century of industrial use, was acquired in 2004 by the environmental stewardship nonprofit Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi (WTA), which worked with the City of Saint Paul to begin a decades-long journey to restore the area’s original bluffs and wetlands.

As the public face of the sanctuary, Wakan Tipi Center continues to advance this work by providing authentic interpretation of the culture and history of Dakota people in Saint Paul. Indoor and outdoor teaching spaces support an environmental education program focused on geology, urban ecology, habitat restoration, and migration routes, while also honoring the significance of Wakáŋ Tipi cave, a sacred Dakota site. Additional program areas include gallery spaces, ceremony spaces, a community gathering area, a teaching kitchen, and offices for WTA.

The center is the product of an extensive, Dakota-led community engagement process. Cuningham worked alongside Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design, helping local Indigenous leaders shape the center’s visual expression, material choices, and functional priorities. As a result, the design expresses Dakota culture through modern forms that reflect the community’s relationship to the land.