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RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN APPLICATION TO THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INTERPRETIVE PROGRAMS AND PUBLIC EDUCATION CATEGORY FOR $286,800 TO IMPLEMENT THE WAABIZHESHIKANA: THE MARTEN TRAIL INTERPRETIVE PLAN.
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CITY PROPOSAL:
BE IT RESOLVED, that City of Duluth as the applicant, has the authority to act as legal public sponsor for the application described in the Interpretive Programs and Public Education category.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Duluth is fully aware of the information provided in the application and associated responsibilities, including long-term commitments as defined in the application and related master plan and supporting information as submitted.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that, should the application be awarded, the City of Duluth has the legal authority to enter into formal funding agreements with the Minnesota Historical Society for the referenced trail.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Duluth will comply with all applicable laws and regulations associated with grant funding for their respective portions of any project.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: Waabizheshikana: The Marten Trail Interpretive Plan creates an interpretive trail experience for a range of audience interests and backgrounds. By integrating artworks, historical accounts, and highlights from the natural world, this plan cultivates new ways of seeing the landscape from diverse and sometimes unexpected perspectives. Proposed experiences draw attention to the history, wildlife, geography, and ecology of the river landscape that have made this an attractive destination for people and wildlife for millennia.
Interpretive features have been organized around a series of River Places, landmarks comprised of trailheads, overlooks, and pause points- each of which could host art, gathering spaces, or nature play areas. A set of interpretive elements-story poles, cairns, freestanding signs, and concrete inlays-have been designed from a materials palette drawn from the natural estuary and from products of the industries that made the City of Duluth. By telling the stories of the estuary with materials that are of the location, the interpretive elements are both true to their place and durable.
The combinations of materials, fabrication techniques, and cultural content described promise to further enrich storytelling along Waabizheshikana: The Marten Trail. When people on the trail see Ojibwe plant and animal names engraved into steel, for example, they are seeing different cultures juxtaposed and joined together at the same time. This and other techniques will illustrate ways of sharing stories and ideas that go beyond words and images. Likewise, the merging of these forms respects the gifts of the natural world and the hard work and cultural contributions of Duluth’s many residents though time-a vision that honors the past while presenting a bold challenge for the future.
This grant program does not require that the City of Duluth make a financial contribution to the project.