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The American Indian Cultural Corridor
Great cities celebrate the diverse peoples that call them home. New York’s Little Italy, San Francisco’s Chinatown, and other ethnic communities cultivate their heritage and enrich the urban fabric. Such districts are sources both of pride and of prosperity, drawing visitors to their unique stores, businesses, and cultural attractions.
The American Indian community is well positioned to inaugurate such a district in the heart of Minneapolis. Over time, the homes and businesses along East Franklin Avenue have become focal points of American Indian cultures. With the energy, determination, and creativity of community residents, it has developed an identity all its own. American Indian community members have envisioned continuing to develop a corridor that will be the economic engine for the urban American Indian community, providing jobs and opportunity for American Indian people and also sharing authentic American Indian culture with the region.
This American Indian Cultural Corridor is critical to the success of this Blueprint due to the concentration of American Indian people and organizations in the corridor area. Because of this concentration, particular effort must be focused on south Minneapolis because changes in this area have regional impact for American Indian people. The American Indian Cultural Corridor is the nexus of this plan; it is the physical space where the community vision is to be realized.
Community Voices
• “When I first drove into the community down Franklin Avenue, I was so happy to see Indian people walking down the street and how refreshing that was and how proud I was. It is a place of identity and belonging. My definition of a community is a visible role that encompasses a group of people who are seeking a common identity and belong to one family. I see that with our homeless people, hanging out in one area because they like being by us—I love seeing that. To build the community we need to rebuild the lives of the individuals in it. I would like to see that our lives are rebuilt, even starting with the physical, as it gives a sense of pride. It’s as simple as rehabilitating our homes, cleaning the streets and having trash cans, but also just being proud of where you’re from, even if it is Phillips. I would like to see Franklin Avenue area as our own little Indian village, so people will know that that’s the Indian part of town, and also that all of us can be proud to say ‘yes, it is.’” – American Indian community member
• “Community development reminds me of the places people gather. There are natural connectors for families or communities so it’s the notion of gathering. There is also the notion of place – architecture or natural places. I think of a corridor – a place for Indian expression and commerce. I’m influenced by the idea of an Indian center that is more than a building.”
• “We should invest in development along the light rail. A lot of Indian land is along or proximate to the light rail. We are not behind this development. The cultural corridor is a wonderful idea and we need to tell our story.” – American Indian community member
The Corridor Vision
Combined plan:
Legend:
Yellow – Cultural Anchors
Red – Education and Training
Purple – Retail, Service, and Biz Tech
Light Purple – Retail Corridor with regional scale businesses
Light Blue – Social Services and small business
Orange – Housing
Light Green – Greenspace
Dark Green – Bike Path
There is a strong community desire to see Franklin Avenue established as a regional cultural and economic corridor tied to the LRT. Based on the community-based planning process, it was determined that the Cultural Corridor should be anchored on the east, center, and west with regionally-significant cultural facilities including a cultural and performance center on the east, in the middle with an enlivened Indian Center, and on the west end with a planetarium for indigenous cosmology. Franklin Avenue itself would be established as a regional destination for Indian-owned businesses. Social service agencies, would be reoriented along Bloomington Avenue and 24th Street. Franklin Avenue surrounding the LRT station would be streetscaped with trees, lights, banners, and planters to create connections to the American Indian Cultural Corridor and Seward neighborhood, with a particular emphasis on improving the pedestrian experience underneath the LRT and Hiawatha bridges. Additional greenspace including space for ceremonies and pow-wow grounds would be created along with an expanded network of bike paths. A better connection would be developed to reach Franklin Avenue and the LRT station from Little Earth. The ends of the corridor would be marked with public art or other forms of identifiable gateways.
Further elements identified in the planning process:
• Inclusion of sustainable design principles in all buildings
• Inclusion of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CEPTED) Principles
• Development of an Indian-owned hotel and conference center near the Franklin LRT station
• Development of a new K-12 education center/school within the area
• Creation/expansion of facilities for job training and business services within the corridor
• Development of neighborhood signage and identity
• Creation of an American Indian marketplace
• Creation of American Indian murals, sculptors and other public art in the corridor
• Development of housing of different types and affordable to different income levels
• Creation of American Indian-owned small businesses
• Development of art space
Participants also noted the types of businesses they would like in the Cultural Corridor, noting that there should be a diversity of businesses that serve persons of different income levels both as customers and as employees:
• American Indian-owned Hotel and conference center
• Cultural Center/museum
• Planetarium for Indigenous cosmology
• Tribal Embassy
• Performance Space
• Artist gallery space, studio space, and housing
• Community Greenhouse
• American Indian marketplace
• Restaurants featuring Native foods
• Bookstores
• Café/Coffee shop
• Native foods grocery store (co-op)
• Youth business incubator
• American Indian dentist
• Computer study center
• Game center for youth
• Green businesses
• Entertainment venues
• Light industry
• Shoe shop
• American Indian radio station
• Automotive services
• Native language center
• Native clothing store
• Bingo hall
Opportunity/Focus Sites
To further develop the community plan, a number of opportunity or focus sites were identified throughout the corridor for redevelopment potential. Drawings were developed that represent examples of what could be built based on current zoning. The buildings shown are generic in nature; they do not represent specific proposals. The drawings are meant to be illustrative of what is possible for various sites throughout the corridor. Actual redevelopment projects will only advance if they are financially feasible, and uses will be determined in the feasibility process.
