Giiwedinong, the Anishinaabe Museum of Treaties and Culture, is taking form in downtown Park Rapids for its upcoming fall opening (the Anishinaabe word Giiwedinong means “in the north.”).
Recently, far north Red Lake artist Brian Dow began mural and trim paintings on the former Carnegie Library, which also was the former site of the Enbridge office for the Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline project. The museum plans to open October 12, 2023, two years after the controversial Line 3 went into operation in the heart of ceded Treaty territory after years of legal court challenges and protests, which included the arrest of more than 1,000 Water Protectors.
Giiwedinong’s permanent features during the museum’s grand opening will feature a prominent Water Protector exhibit with numerous photos, plus stories and narratives from the Water Protector movement in both northern Minnesota and Standing Rock, North Dakota and the Anishinaabe treaties with Indigenous nations and colonial nations, from the One Dish One Spoon Treaty to the l867 Treaty with the Anishinaabe.
“We are working to foster an understanding of long-standing Indigenous covenants, contracts and treaties, as well as sharing the context of the land transactions in this region,” explained Renee Gurneau, Board Chair of the newly formed museum and a Red Lake resident, who is helping guide and develop the cultural knowledge of the museum. ”There’s a real need for the history of Akiing or northern Minnesota to be told and shared from an Indigenous perspective.”
“We want to share our history and honor Water Protectors with the museum’s debut,” said Winona LaDuke who is coordinating the project for Akiing.
“Many people who want to learn about citizen engagement, regulatory processes, treaty rights, and the history of Minnesota will be pleased to come to Giiwedinong,” said LaDuke.
“This summer, we began dressing our building, and we are going to add a lot to Park Rapids in terms of public art, culture and a story,” explained Dow, a painter, graphic artist and clothing designer. He is working with traditional Anishinaabe beadwork designs and also leading a group of youth in creating a Water Protector mural by Isaac Murdoch on the building’s western wall.
The Giiwedinong Museum began as a project funded by Honor the Earth and Akiing, an Anishinaabe Community Development organization. In October of 2022, Akiing purchased the Carnegie building and has been undertaking essential renovations to prepare for its first exhibits.
Frank Bibeau, Executive Director of Akiing, is pleased with the progress of the museum project to date and looking forward to the impact that this new cultural asset will have in Minnesota’s North Country: “We have a group of hard-working people bringing together history, culture, treaty and constitutional rights. And that story will begin a new public narrative in northern Minnesota.”
The Giiwedinong Museum, funded entirely on private contributions, is the first independent Indigenous Museum in Minnesota. Giiwedinong plans to develop a supporting membership base and will also seek funds from state agencies and foundations to support future exhibits and additional staffing.
For more information on the project, check out the website: https://giiwedinong.org.
