Sacred Sites Tour
All are invited to participate in a Sacred Sites Tour led by the Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs to learn about Minnesota and Twin Cities history from a Native perspective through story-telling and experiencing the sites in silence / meditation / reflection.
Participants are asked to pay $20 to secure their spot for this tour. Contact Office Administrator Cathy Harter (715-386-2851, admin@fpchudson.net) for details on how to make payment, or contact Pastor Lora (lora.burge@fpchudson.net) if cost is a barrier to participation, scholarships are available).
Participants coming from Hudson are encouraged to meet at First Presbyterian Church (1901 Vine Street, Hudson, WI) at 9am, to carpool to the start of the tour at Church of St. Peter, 1405 Sibley Memorial Highway, St. Paul, MN 55120.
This Sacred Sites Tour is being held in collaboration with the Antiracism Task Force of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area (PTCA). Contact the PTCA’s Antiracism Coordinator, the Rev. Anna Kendig Flores with questions about presbytery participation.
The First Presbyterian Church family in particular is invited to engage the sacred stories and history of our Indigenous neighbors through this tour, while Pastor Kendra explores similar stories throughout the Western United States while on our renewal leave.
The tour visits sites located around confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, what the Dakota refer to as Bdote, or “meeting place of rivers,” including:
- Fort Snelling State Park (If vehicles do not have an annual state park pass there is a $7 daily admission fee per vehicle to enter.)
- Dakota Internment Camp following the The Dakota-U.S. War
- Pilot Knob Hill, a traditional burial ground
Tours are appropriate for adults and older youth. Tour groups meet at a location in Mendota near the sites and auto caravan to the sites. Dress for the weather as we will be outside for the entirety of the tour. We do not set aside time for lunch so please bring water or snacks to meet your needs. It is also a good idea to bring along bug spray and sunscreen. With the exception of service dogs, it is not appropriate to bring your pet on the tour. We will do our best to accommodate the physical abilities of all attendees. Wheelchairs welcome as the places we go are on or very near trails. We ask that participants bring along a camping or folding chair as not all of our sites have places to sit. Those walking should expect to be on some uneven surfaces and dirt/gravel paths. We allot four hours for tours though actual times may vary.