Carol Kratz (pictured) and her husband Al, were the last property owners on the 5300 block of Riverview Road to relinquish their home for the sake of the reroute. Before being finally forced out by a court order in November 1998, Carol and Al and their small white house were the focal point of Camp Two Pines: "It's wonderful," said Carol in August 1998, when the encampment and the cause it championed first began getting media attention, "We're finally getting the attention we've been looking for all these years."

Monika Bauerlein, a writer for City Pages noted that "Carol and Al Kratz haven't had this many neighbors in months," and proceeded to describe the encampment that had sprung up around their home: "A turquoise tipi sits on their front lawn, a camp kitchen takes up the sidewalk next door, and two houses down a guy is perched atop a 20-foot metal tripod with his neck bike-locked to the structure. There's a hint of Rainbow Gathering about the scene, what with the smell of wood smoke, the sleep-rumpled T-shirts, and the strains of a flute from the tripod. Protesters have strung vacant houses with webs of teal and purple twine and erected handmade signs announcing 'Camp Two Pines'; [while] members of the Mendota band of Mdewakanton Dakota, a group seeking federal recognition as a tribe, have laid sage bundles across the lawn near the Kratz's peonies."

When asked in August 1998 whether she had started to pack yet, Carol responded: "Not a thing. I may be way out in space, but they've been trying to do this for thirty years, and they haven't yet. I may lose my house, I know that. But I don't think this highway is ever going through here."

2. Beverly Scott of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community - August 1998. The Two Pines Encampment was established among homes on the 5300 block of Riverview Road slated for demolition by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). An area of Minnehaha Park is similarly scheduled for destruction by the rerouting of Highway 55. This threatened area of land is considered especially sacred by the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota, a federally unrecognized tribe whose name means "the joining of the waters" and whose oral tradition tells of a people whose genesis is the place where the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers meet (known today as Minnehaha Park).

3. The Stop the Reroute Pow Wow - Camp Two Pines, August 1998. Comprised of Carol and Al Kratz, members of the Stop the Reroute! coalition, Earth First! activists, and members of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community, the Camp Two Pines encampment was a thriving community committed to nonviolence and to stopping the proposed reroute.

Of particular concern to the protesters was that area of Minnehaha Park threatened by the reroute. Not only is the area considered especially sacred by the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota, it also has historical significance to the city of Minneapolis. Minnehaha Park, as part of the Minneapolis park system, was established in 1883 to preserve and integrate the existing oak habitats that grew within the city limits. It was the city park commissioners that acquired the oakwoods around Minnehaha Falls and most of the savannah that extends south to Fort Snelling. By 1899, all the oaks along the Minnehaha Creek watershed and the top of the Mississippi River bluffs were included in the first state-protected natural landscape in the United States.

4. Bob Brown, of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota, shares insights on the spiritual and cultural significance of the grove of four bur oak trees located south of Camp Two Pines - August 1998.

It was through Bob and his openness to share his wisdom to anyone willing to listen and learn, that I was introduced to the four sacred oaks and to nearby Coldwater Spring. With me on that memorable summer afternoon were (from left) Jane McDonald, CSJ, Trish, Hedy Lehmann and Kathleen Ruona.

5-7. Views from within the sacred circle - August 1998.

8. Jane McDonald and Hedy Lehmann stand by the grove of bur oaks considered sacred by the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota.

9. A young supporter of the efforts to halt the Highwayy 55 reroute cools down in the pristine waters of Camp Coldwater Spring - August 1998. As the largest limestone bedrock spring in the Twin Cities area, Camp Coldwater discharges over 100,000 gallons of clean water every day.

According to Dakota tradition, Camp Coldwater Spring is fed from a sacred hill directly west of the spring named Takuwakantipi - a word that can be translated as "something sacred dwells there". The water flowing from this sacred place and out through Camp Coldwater Spring is thus considered "medicine water" by the Dakota people.

Dismissing the Dakota traditions, MnDOT nonetheless refuses to conduct a hydrology study or dye tracing procedure to determine water source/s or route/s of Camp Coldwater Spring. Accordingly, opponents of the Highway 55 reroute are concerned that any construction could threaten Camp Coldwater Spring through a process called "dewatering" - a process which would capture and carry off subsurface water under the entire length of the proposed road. Many opponents of the reroute have also noted that after construction for I-394 West, dewatering occurred which ensured the drying up of Big Medicine Spring in Minneapolis' Theodore Wirth Park.

10. Garrett of Earth First! "locks down" in one of the houses slated for destruction by the rerouting of Highway 55. Garrett was one of several activists who risked their safety and lives in attempts to save the houses on Riverview Road after a tip off that they would be demolished in August 1998.

Garrett's left arm is inserted into a pipe in the ground, surrounded by concrete. "It can't be removed because of the door I'm lying on," he explained. The massive metal door blocked access to the pipe and the concrete surrounding it. "I'm here until the re-route is cancelled," Garrett declared.

Throughout the encampment activists had devised ways of "locking" themselves down and preventing the destruction of the remaining houses. Margaret, one of three young women barricaded in the basement of one house, told The Star Tribune that "what MnDOT is doing is wrong. The people don't want this. We have over 8,000 signatures and [our action here] is forcing them to listen. . . [MnDOT's plan is] a waste of precious land. It's a waste of resources. It's a waste of people's lives. The only point of [the reroute] is to get to the airport and the Mall of America three minutes faster . . . I'm a longtime human rights activist. Environment and human rights overlap. This house is in good condition. We live in a city with a lack of affordable housing, and we're tearing down a perfectly good home." Similar views were expressed by another activist named David: "At a time when people are on welfare and are homeless, they are destroying perfectly good houses."

No raid eventuated in August, but at 4:30 a.m. on December 20, 1998, the encampment was raided by 802 police officers. Throughout the duration of the raid the media was forbidden entry into the area of the encampment and so failed to witness the destruction of tepees, sacred eagle feathers and a ceremonial drum. The arrest and brutalization of several young activists went also unseen by the media, but not by those present. The following day the houses were razed.

Of the numerous activists arrested on December 20, only two, Michael Nelson and Natalia Shulkin, later appeared before a district court. In September 1999, all charges against the pair were dismissed by Judge Stephen Aldrich who cited a "lack of probable cause and outrageous police conduct" to justify his decision. He noted that after both Nelson and Shulkin had been sprayed with pepper spray, medical attention was not dispensed for hours: "For the State to allow such suffering to continue after defendants complied with official demands is abusive . . . [and amounts to] state-sanctioned torture."

11. Within days of the police raid on Camp Two Pines, the encampment was re-established south of 52nd Street, within the last remnant of bur oak savannah in the Twin Cities and centered around the grove of four bur oak trees considered sacred by the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota. The trees are also threatened by the rerouting of Highway 55, as is nearby Camp Coldwater Spring.

12. Leo Ronneng, Vice-Chairman of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota, was one of the most vocal critics of MnDOT's Cultural Resource Assessment (CRA) of the area threatened by the reroute. For a start, MnDOT's choice of consulting firm to conduct the assessment, Louis Berger and Associates, was troubling. "Eighty-five percent of their income comes from road projects," Leo says, "That's why they were chosen in the first place. They're not going to bite the hand of MnDOT that feeds them." The study ultimately concluded that "the four bur oak trees . . . lack historical significance." In response to these findings, Leo states: "[That] study . . . was just another smoke screen. They took sixteen hours of testimony from elders then completely disregarded it."

13. Brigid McDonald, CSJ, contemplates as she walks the labyrinth constructed in March 1999 at the encampment's second site. Said Brigid of the destruction she opposes: "The murder and mulching of hundreds of trees, mostly old growth oaks, leaves a deep wound in the heart of our Mother Earth and in the hearts of all who love and respect her. This labyrinth provides a space for a circle walk and time to reflect and heal the soul.

14. Sue Ann Martinson stands beside one of the four bur oak trees considered sacred by the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota. Jim Anderson, Cultural Chair of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota has noted that "the four oak trees planted in the four directions were used by our people for our vision quests." The beauty and significance of the trees is felt by non-Indians as well. "There's a sense and a presence here," says Sue Ann, "a magic that the trees and the sacred fire in their center invoke."

The four trees are situated south of the former Camp Two Pines and are the center of the Four Oaks Spiritual Encampment - the second encampment established by opponents of the Highway 55 reroute.

15. Bear - member of the Northern Cheyenne nation, sundancer, and longtime organizer of American Indian Movement (AIM) Patrol in Minneapolis. "After Jim [Anderson] and Leo [Ronneng] took me to see the trees I quit my job working for AIM Patrol and gave up my apartment," says Bear. "I'm a sundancer. I love Mother Earth and try to live in a traditional way. I wanted to help save these trees here. I don't want to see them digging up our ancestors in that burial ground back there."

16. Dusk at the Four Oaks Spiritual Encampment - April 1999. The encampment, also known as the "Free State," was, according to Jon Lurie of Southside Pride, "the kind of coalition that had rarely been seen in America: the joining of indigenous and non-native people whose shared vision and complementary talents could combine to create a better future for all."

Lurie also noted the emergence of a new understanding in the camp: "No longer was the central battle in the Americas being waged white against non-white. The war today had nothing to do with . . . race and colonialism. Rather, it was corporate America and its military wing, the United States government, that had to be stopped."

17. Kathleen Ruona, longtime justice and peace activist and resident of Minneapolis - June 1999. Of MnDOT's proposed reroute of Highway 55, Kathleen says: "This plan is totally unnecessary. I don't understand why they want to build this road. Do they honestly think that it will save driving time to the airport? This city had an integrated streetcar system that served the entire metropolitan area. It was destroyed by the collusion of the auto, oil and rubber industries back in the 1940s and '50s. This road is environmentally damaging and is taking away land that belongs to the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota. We need to preserve land not destroy it. We need to leave open space as it is."

18. Jane McDonald, CSJ, and Hedy Lehmann converse in front of the Four Oaks Spiritual Encampment kitchen - July 1999. Beyond and to the left of the kitchen are the four sacred bur oaks.

19. Susu Jeffrey participates in the action to protest and halt MnDOT's breaking of ground in parkland at the intersection of Hiawatha Ave. and 46th Street - Monday, July 27, 1999. Scuffles broke out when police moved in to clear non-violent protesters from blocking traffic on Hiawatha Ave. Several people supportive of the protesters were also targeted by police and violently plucked from the crowd of 200 gathered to vocally protest at the intersection.

Says Susu of the area under threat by the reroute: "This place is unique in all the world and must be preserved. This is the Grand Canyon of the Midwest, the only true gorge in the 2,300 mile length of the Mississippi River. Oak savannah used to cover 10 percent of this area. Now we have 0.02 percent. This project seeks to destroy the last grove of bur oak trees in Minneapolis. We will not let that happen. This is a pork barrel project for the benefit of the wealthy suburbanites who fled the city twenty years ago yet still want easy access to jobs and sporting events downtown. This project is going forward because highway construction companies have powerful lobbies and stand to make a boat load of money."

20. Patrick was a resident at St. Stephen's Shelter in Minneapolis when I invited him to the second annual Stop the Reroute Pow Wow in August 1999. He was drawn to the Native American culture and to the four sacred oaks, and later shared with me that his great grandfather had been a member of the Blackfoot nation.

21. Garrett (with guitar) and friend provide entertainment during the First Anniversary Celebration of the encampment established to protest and halt the rerouting of Highway 55 - August 10, 1999. Originally situated among houses slanted for demolition on 52nd street, the camp was relocated and renamed after the infamous police raid of December 20, 1998. Now located by the grove of sacred bur oaks and close to Camp Coldwater Spring, the encampment represents the longest urban occupation in U.S. history.

22. Dan "the Oak Man" Keiser, Sue Ann Martinson, Hedy Lehmann and Sandy join in the celebrations to mark the first anniversary of the encampment established to protest and halt the rerouting of Highway 55. In the background stand the four sacred oaks.

23-24. Sky of the Dakota nation prepares to lead the march on City Hall to protest the rerouting of Highway 55. The hand print of blue clay on his face symbolizes "a prayer raising a hand to the Creator saying 'Thank you.'" The Stop the Land Grab March united opponents of north Highway 55 expansion (which threatens to destroy 960 much-needed public housing units) and opponents of south Highway 55 rerouting (threatening Minnehaha Park, Camp Coldwater Spring and other sites considered sacred by the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota).

Said Betty Hinton of Northside Neighbors for Justice: "We figure if we can band together, the more we have, the more fight we can fight. It will get larger because people are hearing the message." The Reverend Curtis Herron from Zion Baptist Church on the city's north side noted that "The city uses the same tactics with the [south] Highway 55 group that they use with us: the delaying tactics, the denial, the belittling of those of us who protest as if we're just fanatics."

25-26. The Stop the Land Grab March - Saturday, September 25, 1999. No permit was obtained for the march that saw 400 people parade down Olson Memorial Highway and through downtown Minneapolis. Once aware of their presence, the police did not attempt to stop the diverse group of citizens, but escorted the colorful and noisy procession to City Hall. Here a Unification Rally was held during which Jim Anderson, Cultural Chair of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota, declared: "We're here for a reason, and that's for justice for the people. The politicians and the money people are pushing us around and we're tired of it. We're taking back the street just to show them that it's not just a small group of people here, a small group of people there. It's the people together."

27. Russell, a young member of the encampment, stands vigil alongside one of the four sacred oaks.

28-34. On September 27, 1999, a large group of protesters halted construction and closed Hiawatha Ave. for over twelve hours by occupying both the bridge spanning Minnehaha Creek and the cottonwood tree growing beside the bridge and the creek. Though some of those occupying the cottonwood were removed and arrested when the bridge was cleared by police, others managed to elude capture and were able to remain in the tree.

35. Jane McDonald, CSJ, and a young boy from the Minnehaha Park neighborhood join with 200 others to watch the police and fire department attempts at removing the environmental activists from the threatened cottonwood. By nightfall, four activists remained in the tree with efforts to remove them suspended.