Mdewakanton Sioux Donates Thousands of Bees to Minneapolis' Apiary in the Sky

Heard the buzz on the street? Downtown Minneapolis is now home to two hives of  honeybees, bred and raised by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

The tribe donated the bees to a new apiary on the roof of the Minneapolis City Hall and Courthouse. At full strength, the two hives are expected to include about 50,000 bees each.

According to a release from the city, the bees’ will forage an area of about 28 square miles, including the chain of lakes in the western half of the city (Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, Cedar Lake and Brownie Lake), six miles of Mississippi shoreline and the city's many parks. The rooftop apiary provides the insects with an oasis in an urban landscape that is often devoid of greenery. It is also safely out of the way of human traffic.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community donated the bees and equipment as part of its commitment to a sustainable environment and to help the City with its environmental goals. 

For the last seven years, researchers have been baffled by sudden, widespread die-offs in the nation's honeybee populations. The insects, which are so essential to pollination and the life cycle of all plants, have been subject to "colony collapse disorder" and many other assaults, such as shrinking habitats, pesticides, bee diseases and parasites. 

To combat this problem, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Wozupi (garden) has developed an extensive apiary including more than 4.8 million honeybees in 120 hives.