Barrier at Minnehaha Dog Park dividing community members

Plans to place a new barrier at the Minnehaha Dog Park are already dividing some community members before it’s even been installed.

On Saturday morning, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the National Park Service and the Minnesota Historical Society hosted an information meeting about the project.

The fence is intended to keep unleashed dogs from leaving the dog park’s boundaries and heading into sacred Indigenous land managed by the National Park Service.

In 2023, the land was designated as traditional cultural property in the National Register of Historic Places. Indigenous Parks Liaison Carrie Day Aspinwall says it’s important to be good neighbors and be respectful of the land.

“Dakota people have been living along the banks of this river for millenniums,” Aspinwall said. “So again, we’re trying to be respectful of the people and work with our neighbors and relatives on this and come to an understanding of what it means to be a good relative and how important and sacred our lands and relatives are to us.”

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board decided in October that they would add the fence to protect the land from unleashed dog damage.

To help install it, the National Park Service gave the board a $55,000 grant to complete the barrier.

However, some dog owners say they wish they had a say in what the money was being used for, some arguing it should’ve been used to improve amenities in the dog park.

Others like Scott Solowiej argued a barrier would reduce the amount of freedom their dogs had.

“The off-leash barrier is pretty confining,” Solowiej argued. “It’s a lot different than the space that the dog owners have been able to enjoy up until now or until that actually does get defined.”

The National Park Service says the fence could be up by fall of 2025.