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Native American Initiatives Department
The Native American Initiatives department (NAI) is responsible for the vision and strategy of incorporating Native content throughout our institution and our historic sites.
The NAI team is an advocate for Native communities and Native nations at the Minnesota Historical Society, serving as a bridge between community needs and MNHS resources, engaging with Native communities and nations throughout the state, and ensuring Native voices, stories, and concerns are addressed in MNHS work. The NAI team conducts research, provides content, and creates programming and engagement opportunities across the state.
The NAI team consults with teams across the Minnesota Historical Society and creates programming, events, and exhibits:
Our Home: Native Minnesota, an exhibit at the Minnesota History Center, shares Native Americans’ stories of survival, resiliency, and adaptation.
The exhibit draws on the depth and breadth of MNHS collections and archives, as well as objects on loan, to present the history and contemporary stories of the region’s Indigenous peoples.
The Native American Artist in Residence (NAAIR) program is a six-to-twelve-month paid residency open to artists practicing in all forms of (material culture) traditional art.
NAAIR was created in 2014 to increase Native American artists’ understanding of traditional art and provide opportunities to share what they learned with their communities.
The Native American Initiatives Department at the Minnesota Historical Society is committed to positively impacting and providing resources to as many Native community members as possible. The Native American Museum Fellowship program increases accessibility and expands opportunities previously offered only to undergraduate students.
More than 100 students have participated in the program known as NAUMF (Native American Undergraduate Museum Fellowship). The newly-revamped NAMF program is open to undergraduate students, recent graduates, and community scholars with an interest in the field of museum and heritage studies. Participants are selected through a competitive application process.
Reconnecting our Roots is a unique opportunity for Native American teens to participate in cultural activities and learn about Native histories rooted throughout Mni Sota Makoče in a welcoming environment.
Native American students from the Twin Cities area who are currently 15-18 years old are encouraged to apply! Students who attend all dates will earn a $500 stipend.
The NAI team also consults with our education department and has compiled classroom resources for teaching Native American history and culture.