The City of Golden Valley continues to act on its Land Acknowledgment Statement with projects that amplify Indigenous voices, preserve cultural practices, and recognize the city’s location on Dakota land.
In 2022, the City Council adopted a Land Acknowledgement Statement developed by the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Commission (DEIC) to recognize the Dakota Peoples as the original stewards of the land that is now Golden Valley. The statement also acknowledges the forced exile, land theft, and long-term cultural suppression Indigenous communities experienced, and still experience, due to colonization.
Acknowledgment alone is not enough. That’s why the City is taking steps to educate, honor, and engage with Indigenous cultures and histories in meaningful and visible ways.
Co-Naming Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ/Bassett Creek
In September 2025, Golden Valley City Council approved a co-naming policy that officially recognizes the Dakota name for Bassett Creek, Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ, meaning “Falls Creek” or “Creek to the Falls.” The policy directs City staff, contractors, and representatives to use the co-name in both written and verbal communications, from maps and signage to online content and public meetings.
The initiative began with a recommendation from the City’s Environmental Commission and aligns with the earlier co-naming policy by the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission (BCWMC) in 2025. It also acknowledges the complex and often painful history behind the creek’s colonial namesake, Joel B Bassett, a man whose legacy includes the illegal exploitation of Indigenous lands and resources.
By uplifting the Dakota name, the City aims to restore visibility to Indigenous heritage and recognize the creek not just as a geographical feature, but as part of a larger cultural and spiritual landscape that long predates colonization.
City Staff And Golden Valley Garden Club Collaborate On New Dakota Medicine Garden
A 2024 tour of Indigenous sites in Golden Valley resulted in a Golden Valley Garden Club project to create a Dakota Medicine Garden in the City’s circular arbor planter at the northeast corner of Winnetka Ave and Golden Valley Rd. The garden is now flourishing and features an interpretive sign to educate passersby about the plants and their use.
Staff from the City’s Public Works and Communications Departments worked with Garden Club and community members to coordinate the physical aspects of the project (ensuring adequate topsoil, compost, irrigation, etc) and provide graphic design for the interpretive sign.
According to Garden Club member Rob Clarno, the project concept started with Barb Ego, the club’s vice president, and was spearheaded by a committee that included both of them as well as Aaron Culey. Golden Valley residents Jim Rock, a Dakota, and Roxanne Gould, an Odawa and Ojibwe, served as advisors.
The Medicine Garden is oriented in the four directions that are significant to the Dakota Peoples. The four cardinal directions (west, north, east, and south) hold deep spiritual and cultural significance, representing various aspects of life, nature, and the spiritual world. The plants each have their own significant value and use to the Dakota Peoples. The most common uses are described on the interpretive sign.
The Golden Valley Garden Club is a 501c3 charitable volunteer organization whose mission is to educate its members and the public about horticultural matters and to serve the community of Golden Valley. As part of the club’s Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with the City, one of their responsibilities is to plant, care for, and maintain the five circular median planters on Winnetka Avenue west of the water tower and the three circular arbor planters at the intersection of Winnetka Avenue and Golden Valley Road.