The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) sincerely thanks everyone who has weighed in and participated in the process to remove the “Sibley” name from the park that now, temporarily, is known as 40th Street Park.
MPRB Commissioners approved Resolution 2025-63 on April 16, 2025, removing the “Sibley” name from the park, recreation center building (pictured above) and all other MPRB assets.
Several aspects of a complex process have moved forward since that formal “unnaming” of the park last year:
Rescinding the nomination of Caŋté T’íŋza Wíŋyaŋ as the future park name
In addition to “unnaming” and assigning a temporary name to the park, Resolution 2025-63 also formally withdrew the nomination of Caŋté T’íŋza Wíŋyaŋ (Strong Hearted Women) following additional conversations with Dakota representatives.
MPRB Naming Policy Update
Through the rest of the year, MPRB staff reviewed, revised and updated the MPRB Naming Policy. This process included receiving guidance from the Native American Parks Council, and additional Dakota and Indigenous leadership. The updated Naming Policy, approved in December 2025, includes a pathway for a Dakota-led and Indigenous-led naming process.
Context and Conversations
Indigenous Place Names Conversations and other meetings and discussions in 2025 provided history, background, experiences and context about Dakota naming reclamation processes. The outcomes from these gatherings confirmed the need to outline a different process for renaming 40th Street Park and have informed next steps for the renaming process.
Detailed Timeline
The items above are noted in more detail in a new timeline, linked below. The timeline includes MPRB’s account of steps in the renaming process dating back to the initial request in 2016, as well as links to notes on conversations and meetings from 2025 and earlier. The overall goal of the timeline is to provide perspective and context around the many steps of this journey as it continues.