Exhibition on Minnesota treaties will begin touring in August
"Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations" is a new traveling exhibition that will explore the Native nations in Minnesota and the history of treaty making with the United States. The grand opening will be Aug. 3 at the White Earth Tribal Headquarters on the White Earth Reservation (35500 Eagle View Road, Ogema), where it will be on view through Aug. 31.
The exhibition will begin a statewide tour through 2012 to reservations and other venues under the auspices of the Minnesota Humanities Center and its partner, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council.
In August 2010, a resolution creating a unique partnership of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. was approved unanimously by the tribes residing in Minnesota and made it possible for the exhibition to be developed as an educational tool for Minnesota audiences.
The exhibition will include 20 free standing banners with evocative text, historical and contemporary photographs and maps, and a 10-minute video.
This exhibit reveals how Dakota and Ojibwe treaties with the U.S. government affected the lands and lifeways of the Indigenous peoples of the place we now call Minnesota, and explains why these binding agreements between nations still matter today.
The project is funded in part with money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with a vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008, and The Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation. For more information and itinerary updates visit: www.mnhum.org/treaties.
SMSC recognized at Jefferson Awards
In celebration of its contributions to philanthropy and work within the community, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community was honored at a Washington, D.C. awards gala on June 21. The event recognized 103 Americans and organizations with the 39th annual Jefferson Awards, regarded as one of the nation’s highest honors for community service and volunteerism.
Known as the "Nobel Prize" for public service, the awards are presented each year over two days of ceremonies in the nation’s capital and New York City.
Grassroots recipients are selected through local media partners in markets throughout the country. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community was chosen by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. SMSC Vice-Chairman Glynn Crooks accepted the Jefferson Award on behalf of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community for the tribe’s philanthropy.
Over the past 15 years, the SMSC has donated more than $215.7 million to charitable organizations, Indian Tribes, and Native American organizations.
The SMSC has also made a commitment to loan more than $400 million in loans to other tribes for economic development projects. The SMSC uses its financial resources from gaming and non-gaming enterprises to pay for the internal infrastructure of the Tribe, including but not limited to roads, water and sewer systems, emergency services, and essential services to its Tribal members in education, health, and welfare.
Co-founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard, The Jefferson Awards annually celebrate America’s commitment to public service.
Tiwahe Foundation announces new website and Endowment Campaign Committee members
The Tiwahe Foundation, an independent, American Indian directed and managed community foundation in the Twin Cities has created a new Endowment Committee, which was formed to support its Seventh Generation Endowment Campaign. The campaign was launched in 2009 and is working to secure $6 million that will provide permanency for the American Indian Family Empowerment Program. To date, the campaign has raised gifts totaling $1 million.
The Tiwahe Foundation Endowment Committee includes Endowment Chair, Laura Waterman Wittstock and Tiwahe Board Chair, Valerie Larsen as well as Tiwahe Board members; Carrie Day Aspinwall, Yvonne Barrett, Daniel Lemm and Alicia Smith. Other members include; Tiffany R. Beckman, M.D., M.P.H, James R. Boyle, Conley Brooks Jr., Ellis F. Bullock, Kathy Denman- Wilke, Jackie Dionne, Kelly Drummer, Anthony Genia, Leah Goldstein Moses, Louis F. Hill, John Hinck, LaVon Lee, Trisha Lee Cook, Ronald Libertus, Malcolm W. McDonald, Ronald McKinley, Steven Newcom, Carrie Morris Owens, Joy Persall, Jorge Saavedra F., Elaine Salinas and Maggie Arzdorf-Schubbe.
The Tiwahe Foundation recently launched a new website, which provides more information about its mission, vision and values, how to apply for AIFEP fund grants and its goal of increasing philanthropic dollars to American Indian causes in Minnesota. For more information about the Tiwahe Foundation or the Seventh Generation Endowment Program, see: www.tiwahefoundation.org.
