Bill Text: MN HF1478 | 2013-2014 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Coldwater Springs; a resolution memorializing the United States Secretary of Interior to designate the Coldwater Springs area as a traditional cultural property.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-11 - Introduction and first reading, referred to Government Operations [HF1478 Detail]
Download: Minnesota-2013-HF1478-Introduced.html
1.1A resolution
1.2memorializing the United States Secretary of Interior to designate the Coldwater
1.3Springs area as a traditional cultural property.
1.4WHEREAS, Coldwater Springs is a 10,000 year old spring located halfway between the
1.5confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers and Minnehaha Falls, atop of the Mississippi
1.6Gorge, the only true river gorge on the Mississippi; and
1.7WHEREAS, the Coldwater Springs area is historically significant as a Native American
1.8ceremonial site and cultural trading center of the Dakota, Ojibwe, Sauk and Fox, and Iowa peoples
1.9because of its location above the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, which
1.10served as an original intercontinental "highway" carrying trade from the native North American
1.11Indian nations to South American Indian nations for thousands of years; and
1.12WHEREAS, traditional cultural properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places
1.13are entitled to identification, documentation, preservation, and protection by the United States
1.14Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service, the State Historic Preservation Office,
1.15the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and other related state and federal agencies; and
1.16WHEREAS, Coldwater Springs is considered the last remaining major natural freshwater
1.17spring in Hennepin County still flowing at 90,000 gallons per day, is the traditional place native
1.18people can go to collect sacred spring water essential for ceremonies, and should be protected as a
1.19matter of freedom of religion; and
1.20WHEREAS, Coldwater Springs furnished water to Fort Snelling from 1820 to 1900 where
1.21Dred Scott was stationed and where he met and married his wife Harriet, and Dred Scott based his
1.22case for freedom from slavery in part on his residency in the "free Wisconsin territory"; and
2.1WHEREAS, the Coldwater Springs area was used specifically to give ailing United States
2.2soldiers access to fresh spring water in order to recover from life-threatening illnesses; and
2.3WHEREAS, the Coldwater Springs area presents an incredible educational opportunity
2.4for native and other children to learn about the extraordinary human and geological history
2.5of the area; and
2.6WHEREAS, the Coldwater Springs area is a historic gathering place for the Upper
2.7Mississippi Dakota, Ojibwe, Winnebago, Sauk and Fox, and Iowa peoples who have traditional
2.8cultural properties entitled to protection at the site; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.9BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the Secretary
2.10of Interior, through the National Park Service, to list Coldwater Springs on the National Register
2.11of Historic Places and designate it as a traditional cultural property.
2.12BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
2.13directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United
2.14States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of
2.15the United States House of Representatives, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior,
2.16and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.
1.2memorializing the United States Secretary of Interior to designate the Coldwater
1.3Springs area as a traditional cultural property.
1.4WHEREAS, Coldwater Springs is a 10,000 year old spring located halfway between the
1.5confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers and Minnehaha Falls, atop of the Mississippi
1.6Gorge, the only true river gorge on the Mississippi; and
1.7WHEREAS, the Coldwater Springs area is historically significant as a Native American
1.8ceremonial site and cultural trading center of the Dakota, Ojibwe, Sauk and Fox, and Iowa peoples
1.9because of its location above the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, which
1.10served as an original intercontinental "highway" carrying trade from the native North American
1.11Indian nations to South American Indian nations for thousands of years; and
1.12WHEREAS, traditional cultural properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places
1.13are entitled to identification, documentation, preservation, and protection by the United States
1.14Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service, the State Historic Preservation Office,
1.15the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and other related state and federal agencies; and
1.16WHEREAS, Coldwater Springs is considered the last remaining major natural freshwater
1.17spring in Hennepin County still flowing at 90,000 gallons per day, is the traditional place native
1.18people can go to collect sacred spring water essential for ceremonies, and should be protected as a
1.19matter of freedom of religion; and
1.20WHEREAS, Coldwater Springs furnished water to Fort Snelling from 1820 to 1900 where
1.21Dred Scott was stationed and where he met and married his wife Harriet, and Dred Scott based his
1.22case for freedom from slavery in part on his residency in the "free Wisconsin territory"; and
2.1WHEREAS, the Coldwater Springs area was used specifically to give ailing United States
2.2soldiers access to fresh spring water in order to recover from life-threatening illnesses; and
2.3WHEREAS, the Coldwater Springs area presents an incredible educational opportunity
2.4for native and other children to learn about the extraordinary human and geological history
2.5of the area; and
2.6WHEREAS, the Coldwater Springs area is a historic gathering place for the Upper
2.7Mississippi Dakota, Ojibwe, Winnebago, Sauk and Fox, and Iowa peoples who have traditional
2.8cultural properties entitled to protection at the site; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.9BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the Secretary
2.10of Interior, through the National Park Service, to list Coldwater Springs on the National Register
2.11of Historic Places and designate it as a traditional cultural property.
2.12BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
2.13directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United
2.14States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of
2.15the United States House of Representatives, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior,
2.16and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.
