The City of Waconia is partnering with American Legion Post 150 to fully restore the following three monuments in our City Square Park:
- Civil War Soldiers Monument = Dedicated in 1892 to recognize 559 Carver County soldiers who died during the Civil War.
- Civil War Cannon = Manufactured in 1846 and obtained for the village of Waconia in 1897 via the US Government Obsolete Civil War Cannon Program.
- World War I Veterans Monument = Dedicated in 1929 to recognize 122 Carver County Veterans from the World War I conflict.
This solid steel memorial with attached didactic plaques will celebrate Minnesota?s women veterans and their prominence in the military from 1948 to present, representing nearly 75 years of Minnesota women's service to the Nation. The outcome of the work will be an inviting and reflective space where representative female veterans can be honored and recognized by the community. It will be created by collaboration between real Minnesota veterans and our artist community. Artists from both groups will be the driving force of this memorial creation and will be duly recognized.
This project will involve the creation of a new theater room to be included in the Hmong Cultural Center Museum and Library. The theater room will allow visiting groups and walk-in visitors to view clips of historical documentaries about the Hmong diaspora and Hmong American Experience as part of their museum experience.
The Hmong Cultural Heritage Initiative is intended to both preserve and spread awareness and knowledge of Hmong culture in a comprehensive and multifaceted manner by supporting several outreach initiatives of the Hmong Cultural Center Museum.
Hmong Museum proposes developing a 400 sq feet traveling exhibit around the importance of Hmong's oral culture. It will be a research phase with collaboration between Hmong Museum and community members. Topics would include Hmong stories that are passed on including history narratives, skills that are taught orally, and folktales. It will also provide an opportunity for visitors of all backgrounds to be inspired to share their own stories about their lives and experiences.
Our book titled Staring Down the Tiger: Stories of Hmong American Women, provides a platform to tell stories of Hmong women—stories that are often left unheard. The collection of the stories in the book were developed during a writing retreat that provided emotional and technical writing support to nearly 30 women. The writing retreat was invaluable in helping non writers uncover and creatively share their stories. We are requesting $5,000 to create a personal development workbook that will supplement the book offering readers their own virtual experience of the writing retreat.
The Oshki-Filmmakers Project is a series of film workshops and opportunities for the White Earth Ojibwe Reservation. Focusing on Indigenous youth, these workshops bring established Indigenous filmmakers from across our region together with youth artists to share stories and knowledge as our young artists begin to shape their artistic craft. We provide work space and equipment to empower our youth to share their own stories and those of our community for many generations to come.
