Meandering Mississippi. Map by Harold N. Fisk, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1944 | Geological Investigation of the Alluvial Valley of the Lower Mississippi River
Mississippi: An Anthropocene River is a series of events and activities about the ways in which humans have shaped the region’s environment, with a focus on issues related to the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the Twin Cities.
Field Station 1 considers the stretch of land that extends from the Mississippi River’s headwaters at Lake Itasca, down to the unglaciated region that crosses southeastern Minnesota, southwestern Wisconsin, and northeastern Iowa known as the Driftless. This stretch of the Mississippi River marks both its “natural” and “anthropogenic” origin, where a small creek becomes a continental torrent, where the Dakota, Ojibwe, and many other native peoples centered their material and spiritual lives, and where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has pursued its mandate to organize, manage, and direct the river’s flow for almost two centuries.
Activities will include:
Listening to the Mississippi: Sound installation. Check out a listening pack and walk along the river.
Alien Species: Installation by Kinga Kielczynska
Katharine Ordway, Fall 2018: Sound installation by Max Ritts
Mississippi Mud Stencil Workshop with Ruthann Godollei
Driftless Observatory: Bridging the Twin Cities field station with the Driftless
6:00 pm - 7:15 pm
National Park Service tours of the Lock and Dam
6:00 pm - 7:15 pm
The Future of the River: Presentations and discussions about the future of sites along the river led by Morgan Adamson (Macalester), John Anfinson (NPS), Bruce Braun (UMN), Andrea Carlson, Michael Chaney (Project Sweetie Pie), Pat Nunnally (UMN), and Roopali Phadke (Macalester).
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Anthropocene Film Residency: Screenings and opening music by IE. Films by Andrea Carlson, John Kim, Jenny Schmid, and Tia Simone-Gardner.
Except where indicated, all events will happen at the St. Anthony Falls Visitor Center (1 Portland Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55401) from 6 PM - 9:30 PM.
All events are free and open to the public.