Sulfide Mining Oral History Project

Short term: We accomplished the short-term goal that was provided in our grant application by completing all interviews and transcriptions of those interviews. This target was achieved, and we now house the first-ever oral history project related to copper-nickel mining in Ely, MN.

Intermediate term: This goal is still in the process of being completed. Our archivist is amid formally accessioning these files into our permanent collection to make them available to the public; however, should a member of the public wish to access these files before they are formally made available, we are more than willing to work with them. This target has not been completed yet simply due to the current workload of our single archivist. The files are currently in his backlog.

Long term: This target is still in progress as well. We are evaluating what the best medium would be to share these stories. A traveling exhibit is still a viable route and we are now assessing if a podcast chronicling the stories surrounding this topic would also be beneficial to the public. There are currently also several projects other groups in the region are leading that these oral histories could enhance or supplement, such as the upcoming traveling exhibit ?We Are Water MN? from the Minnesota Humanities Center that MDC will be hosting in spring 2020.