Today we’d like to introduce you to Za’Nia Coleman.
Hi Za’Nia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Our story begins on the stolen, unceded Indigenous lands of the Dakota, Ojibwe, and Anishinaabe peoples. We hold this truth as a starting point in our work to move in right relationship with Indigenous communities.
The land’s contemporary role as a healing space began in 1988, when the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls created Clare’s Well, a retreat center rooted in rest and connection to Earth. In 2014, they transferred the land to Dan and Joan Pauly Schneider, who renamed it Wellspring Farm and continued nurturing its spirit of care. The following year, The Fields Retreat and Learning Center formed and introduced the Community Supported Retreat model—an offering that still exists today.
In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd and the heightened needs of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities during the pandemic, three lesbian BIPOC couples came together to form Rootsprings Cooperative. They mobilized community support to purchase the land and establish The Fields at Rootsprings, centering healing and well-being for those historically excluded from restful spaces.
In 2021, Rootsprings Cooperative formally assumed ownership, and The Fields became a fully BIPOC-led organization. In 2022, Rootsprings raised $2 million to purchase the land outright, renovate the Wellness Center, and offer free Solidarity Stays to community members. That year, we hosted more than 400 stays across our hermitages.
Now, as we enter our fifth year of stewarding Rootsprings as a Black and Queer-led retreat space, we remain committed to expanding access to rest, creativity, and healing for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities across Minnesota and beyond.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
At Rootsprings, one of our core intentions is to treat rest and respite as essential. We work to keep our offerings affordable and to create ways for people to stay on the land with little or no cost. This commitment guides how we design programs and how we think about sustainability.
Because accessibility is central to our mission, a significant part of our work is focused on fundraising and building relationships with donors and institutions that understand the value of rest. We seek support from people who recognize that time away is not a luxury, but a necessary part of sustaining artists, organizers, and healers within BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.
We are also sustained by our community. Many people who cannot contribute financially offer their time and care through volunteering and land stewardship, while others who are able to pay more choose to pay it forward so that access can remain open to others. Together, these shared practices make it possible for Rootsprings to remain a place of care rather than exclusivity.
Another part of the work is education. Many people we serve have not been encouraged to see rest as something meant for them. We spend time helping shift that understanding, offering space for people to see restoration as a resource that supports long-term community work rather than something to be earned.
This approach requires care and collaboration. We meet these challenges by staying grounded in our values and by trusting that access to rest strengthens the people and communities we exist to serve.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Rootsprings is a Black and Queer led cooperative and retreat center dedicated to making rest and respite accessible for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. We care for 36 acres of forest, prairie, and water with the belief that the land can hold people in ways humans sometimes cannot. It offers quiet, grounding, and spaciousness for those who are processing grief, reconnecting to themselves, or rebuilding their relationship with nature.
We provide affirming retreat experiences for individuals and small groups who want to slow down, create, heal, or simply breathe without pressure. Our work centers belonging for people who often feel unwelcome or unseen in traditional retreat spaces. What sets us apart is our commitment to creating a place where BIPOC and queer folx can experience nature with ease, care, and cultural familiarity.
We are proud that Rootsprings exists because the community came together to build it and continues to shape it. Through hermitage stays, group retreats, solidarity access, and our Community Supported Retreat program, we offer pathways for people to invest in their own rest practice. Rootsprings is a home for stillness, healing, and possibility, and we want readers to know that this land is here to welcome them.
What were you like growing up?
The founders of the Rootsprings Cooperative are a collective of artists, organizers, cultural workers, and land stewards whose individual practices deeply shape the spirit of this place. Alice Butts is a visual and graphic artist whose work centers Black queer voices and community care. Signe Harriday is a multidisciplinary artist and activist who uses theatre to explore identity, liberation, and human connection. Zoe Hollomon is a multiracial Black, queer farmer and long-time organizer working for food justice, environmental equity, and community power. Erin Sharkey is a writer, abolitionist, and cultural worker whose creative practice uplifts Black storytelling and collective healing. Together, they bring decades of experience across design, performance, organizing, farming, and cultural strategy. Their shared commitment to liberation, community well-being, and creative possibility is the foundation of Rootsprings.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rootspringsmn.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootspringsmn/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RootspringsMN/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Rootspringsmn
