MSCOD utilized legacy funds in SFY14/15 to raise awareness of MN's disability culture in sync with the 25th anniversary of the passage of the ADA. We will capitalize on the awareness raised and will further preserve the disability cultural awareness thereof. MSCOD will deliver a disability related message through various media, included but not limited to broadcast radio/television/internet communications. Activities continue to highlight the low employment rate of people with disabilities.
College interns from Minnesota's diverse communities are placed across MNHS in various departments and sites. During their semester-long internships, students have the opportunity to work alongside museum and public history professionals to enhance their skills and apply their knowledge in a professional environment.
Dakota Wicohan is excited that many are speaking the Dakota language on in the Upper and Lower Sioux Communities. Because of this, Dakota Wicohan has the opportunity to focus on a small, but significant, group of language learners-15 Dakota language speakers. The project goal is to strengthen the community's capacity to reclaim and revitalize their language by nurturing the language skills of 15 Dakota language leaders.
With the approval by the U of M Board of Regents of a recently proposed MA program in Heritage Studies and Public History, the Teaching Heritage Collaborative will shift focus to the development of program curriculum and recruitment. In addition, the History Day partnership between the U of M and MNHS will be enriched through further development of campus engagement programs.These will include new cohorts of the Summer History Immersion Program for high school students as well as on-campus research experiences during the school year.
The Humanities Center invests in building targeted partnerships with districts for greater, deeper, and more strategic systems change. At the same time, the Humanities Center continues to offer high quality, humanities-focused learning opportunities, both in-person and online, for individual educators.