Building Materials

The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians dedicated their new Government Center, Red Lake Nation College, Pow Wow Grounds and Veterans Memorial over the summer, 2015.

The planning process for all the buildings began five years ago when community members were asked to weigh in on the design. In March, 2015, they began planning the design of the Veterans Memorial.

Plans for the Veterans Memorial were not in the original scope of work, but Project Manager, Bob Pederson, said it was an essential addition, “Tribal leaders wanted to add the memorial mainly because there was not an existing memorial for the Red Lake Area. Of the 2,000 people that live there, over 400 names are already on the wall of service. This was very important for the community to have a space to pay their respects.”

The project included 120 square feet of Mesabi Black® 12” thick cubic upright monuments, 23 square feet of 3” thick round Military Insignia, 21 square feet of 3” thick feather paving, and 53 square feet of 3” thick radial cap stone. The 7 cap stones and 7 feather represent the 7 clans of the Red Lake Nation.

Pederson said the part that took the longest was the design stage, “With a Nation it’s a little bit different. Every member has a say, so you have hundreds of people making comments and projecting ideas. Working with the staff at Coldspring really made it easier. They took the time to show us ideas of past veteran memorial projects they’ve done, showed us how granite could be used and worked with us through the design process.”

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