During the 2015 Legislative Session, the Minnesota State Legislature asked the Minnesota Humanities Center to award arts and cultural heritage grants to Ka Joog. Legacy funds are appropriated to the Humanities Center to support such work. A small portion of the appropriation was reserved by the Humanities Center for direct expenses related to administering the grant. Should any portion of this reserve be unused, the difference will be awarded to the respective museum.
A total of 19 interviews of Asian American-Pacific Islander immigrants were conducted in English and selected Asian Languages. The project successfully captured information about their immigration history, settling experience and their memories in relationships to historical events in North Minneapolis. Eight of the interviews were recorded with a digital video camcorder then the interviews were transcribed by language specialists, then translated into English.
The summary, transcripts and video recording will be preserved and made broadly accessible through:
The book, "Backward Glances" by Lawrence Sunsdahl (1982), about the history of Stephen, Minnesota was updated and republished. It is a collection of articles printed in newspapers and periodicals over a twenty-two year period (1989-2010) about the area and its residents. The author, a lifelong resident of Stephen, had compiled information gathered from newspapers, microfilm and personal contacts.
Thirty monitors were installed to measure moisture readings in the upper reaches of the Basilica of St. Mary. Restoration projects had been put on hold due to previous water infiltration and the damage that was caused by saturation of masonry walls and ceiling plaster. Such infiltration takes a long time to dry. There were concerns that plaster was continuing to absorb moisture from the attic insulation or the masonry walls.
The ESNDC developed a 39-minute audio/video tour of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, a distinctive natural landscape on the Mississippi River floodplain on St. Paul's East Side. Experts were asked to advise on the project and then narrate a specific tour stop using their expertise to comment on aspects of its ecological history and/or cultural value.
The tour was publicized on the Lower Phalen Creek Project website, on the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary Facebook page and in the local nespaper.
To offer hands-on art workshops with local artists. The Clay County Fair will hold hour-long classes with Melissa Kossick and Steve Stark, for both children and adults, on portrait-painting, painting with fingers, pointillism, collage, and local historical drawing. The project is meant to have lasting impact on participants by instilling interest and confidence in order to inspiring them to pursue more art projects on their own.
To bring a variety of cultural entertainment to the Waseca County Free Fair, including yodeling, Bluegrass, Irish, Alpine, Czechoslovakian, gospel and Americana music, a vaudeville show, and genealogical information from the Minnesota Historical Society.
This exhibit, on view at the Minnesota History Center through Sept. 8, 2013, recounts the Minnesota war that tore apart lives, families and the Dakota nation. Visitors can view documents, images and artifacts related to the war, as well as hear heart-wrenching stories and learn about the broken treaties and promises that led to this disastrous chapter in Minnesota history. There are many, often conflicting, interpretations of events related to the war. The exhibit includes multiple viewpoints, as well as historical and contemporary voices.
An interactive planetarium program was developed to create a culturally relevant tour of the cosmos from the local/regional perspective of the Dakota/Lakota communities of Minnesota and South Dakota. The program blends Dakota/Lakota star knowledge with Earth and Space Science data. It is delivered live, using real-time imagery projected on the Minnesota Planetarium Society's ExploraDome. The program can be simultaneously "dome-casted" to other participating locations through the Internet using the planetarium navigator.
The grant was to research content, write, design and fabricate 10 interpretive panels at six sites along the MN River Valley to better tell the stories of the MN River Valley, specifically of the U.S. - Dakota War of 1862. This is Part 1 of an overall interpretation of sites related to the U.S. - Dakota War of 1862.
Fifteen Minnesota cartoonists were interviewed, recorded and the recordings transcribed for an oral history project conducted by the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Interviewees were selected to represent the history of cartooning in Minnesota from the 1940's to 2011.
MNHS strives to attract high school interns from underrepresented communities to encourage engagement and diversify the institution. Legacy funds supported four high school-age gallery assistants in spring 2016. These students received professional on-the-job experience interacting with visitors in the History Center galleries and at public events. Students contributed more than 300 hours to MNHS. Fifty percent of these students were from communities of color.
The Summer Legacy program supported four gallery assistants, beginning in FY16 and continuing into FY17.
To create an area that will improve the visual impact of heritage hand-crafted arts, art (drawing/painting) and culinary departments and to create a demonstration area. Demonstration area will have a stage constructed for programs and presentations that allows an audience to learn and be inspired to preserve the heritage of various arts.
To offer new arts and cultural heritage programming at the Fillmore County Fair. Funds will be used to install a historical exhibit, host a bluegrass performance, and being a project that documents fairgoers experiences through interviews and photos. The project is meant to bridge the past and the future by helping local community members appreciate local history and share their own story for generations to come.
This exhibit about the iconic Minneapolis club, First Avenue, will explore the 1980s when the club was at its peak as a trailblazing venue that put Minnesota music on the map. For four decades, the First Avenue has been a launching pad for local talent like Prince, The Replacements and Husker Du and a place national touring acts loved to play. It booked African American rock, soul and hip-hop artists unable to get gigs at other downtown venues, and it fostered a growing punk, hardcore and indie rock scene.
In the fourth year of this project, MNHS staff completed inventory and rehousing of most artifacts excavated from Historic Fort Snelling between 1957 and 1981. The Collections Management System now has 118,500 records for Fort Snelling artifacts. Three hundred items were photographed and are now accessible to the public online. In 2016, an exhibit featuring patent medicine bottles found at Fort Snelling was developed and installed in the Fort Snelling Visitor Center.
The Pioneer Mine Site, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was improved with the repair of the existing furnaces in the Miners Dry and Shaft Houses. The furnaces are tied in with a fire suppression system and a security system. Installation of expanded steel across three doors, application of adhesive and boards around Shaft House base and removal of surrounding brush provides added protection from insect, animal and human invasion. Destruction by nature and vandals has been minimized.
Partner Organization: Minnesota Geospatial Information Office.
In partnership with the Minnesota Geospatial Information Office, the Minnesota Historical Society is adding geographical markers to more than 120,000 of the Society's historic photographs.
One outcome of this initiative will be the creation of a web experience that will allow students and the public to use "place" as a gateway for discovering other collections materials.
To enhance and expand the fair’s educational exhibits and cultural performances. The history of Goodhue County, the state, and the nation, was shared through demonstrations and displays provided by the Historical Society, Prairie Island Indian Community and individual artists that specialize in early American crafts. History of music and different styles of music were provided by various musical artists. The art of dance was highlighted with workshops given by a local dance studio.
The GTHS hired a conractor who: 1. Transcribed 32 recorded oral interviews of residents of the Gunflint Trail. 2. Conducted further interviews (to be recorded and transcribed as well) of many more area residents, some in their 80's and 90's. 3. Digitized all oral histories and transcriptions and entered them into PastPerfect Software.
A hands on "walk through history" exhibit was developed by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum that puts the Walnut Grove area in context with the residency of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The permanent exhibit features small town venues that include a general store, a bank, a post office and a telephone booth dating from the 1870's to the 1940's.
To offer aspects of Minnesota’s heritage that fairgoers normally would not be able to enjoy. The Hennepin County Fair offered performances and demonstrations in storytelling, clogging, old time string music, blacksmith, potter, dog sled, textile creation, knitting, weaving and wood carving. The storyteller, Bob Gasch, told and acted out stories about Minnesota’s settlement period including Johnny Appleseed, and more and the cloggers demonstrated a historical style of dance from the early settlement of Minnesota.
Purpose of this project is to promote heritage tourism and public education of the City’s downtown area by creating an audio-visual tour of the downtown area’s historic charm and heritage value.
To provide exhibits, re-enactments, education displays, workshops and presentations of "Wabasha County in Days By-Gone." Funds will also be used to purchase a sound system to enhance workshops and presentations, enhance the quilt and wall displays in the Open Class Exhibit Building, and bring a youth theater group to perform at the fair.
Historic Fort Snelling is an MNHS historic site and the state's first National Historic Landmark. A major project at the site prioritizes the adaptive reuse of two historic buildings concentrating on opportunities for public use, education, engagement and reflection. This project supports an MNHS strategic priority and speaks to the mission by returning historic facilities to public use while fostering new dialogues. A master plan was done in 2015, and predesign was completed in June 2016.
Through this partnership, University of Minnesota and ACTC students from diverse backgrounds explored the museum field and issues related to diversity and museums during a semester-long course followed by a paid internship. The program also engages students in discussions on the underrepresentation of communities of color and American Indian nations in historical organizations and public history graduate programs. The class is offered in the fall for ACTC students and as a spring semester course at the University of Minnesota.
To provide heritage music and arts programming for school age children at the fair. The Houston County Fair enhanced their sound system and introduced a Polka band. The objective of this project is to enhance the arts with the involvement of the youth and preserve the history of the fair.
An interpretive exhibit was created with table displays using historically factual text and illustrative photographs and a short play was developed to tell the story of how the dam was built and its affect on the local people and economy. The exhibit counters negative impressions about the dam and provides little known information to the public.
This project is sixth in a series between the India Association of Minnesota and the Minnesota Historical Society. It was developed to convey the history of the Indian Music Society of Minnesota (IMSOM) in three ways:
1. The collection and transcription of seven interviews telling the oral history of IMSOM.
2. The digitization of thirty years of concert performance recordings by leading musiciains from India as well as local artists.
To enhance access to arts and cultural activities by showcasing a variety of performers, artisans and educators, never before hosted by the fair. Programming will include children's puppetry, German musical performances and dancing, Spanish, French and German singing, folk singing and fiddle music, presentations on the MN River preservation and history.
To provide financial support to developing and established regional artists wishing to take advantage of an artist generated or impending concrete opportunity or to provide support for expenses to complete work that will advance the artist’s work or caree
In 2009 and 2010, more than 565 Minnesota teachers benefitted from professional developmentworkshops led by the Minnesota Historical Society. These innovative training opportunities included:
The Society worked with Nancy O'Brien Wagner from Bluestem Heritage group to develop a new interpretive plan for the Eugene St. Julien Cox House's exhibits and programs. The National Association of Interpretation's recommendations were used as the framework for the new plan for this home that is listed in National Register of Historic Places.
Improvements and reconstruction of Locomotive Park, a National Historic Landmark, through interpretation signage at different locations on the site to tell the story of Mountain Iron mine and the miner's heritage in the community.
To create a venue in which to offer arts and culture programming at the fair. The Entertainment Committee of the Jackson County Fair Board will schedule a diverse set of artisans and musicians to provide demonstrations and educational programming for all ages of fair visitors. The free stage will give emergent local musical groups and individuals a stage upon which to showcase their growing talent.
The St. Paul Historic Preservation Commission hired a qualified consultant to complete the local Historic Preservation Site Designation form for the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company Historic District. After commission review and a public hearing the proposed historic district was recommended for approval to the St. Paul City Council. The City Council adopted the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company Historic District as a Heritage Preservation Site along with the Preservation Program. The ordinance was adopted in July, 2011.
To bring “Historical and Scandinavian Churches” to the Kandiyohi County Fair’s Old Settlers’ Cabin. This is a collaboration between Minnesota Historian Doug Ohman, the Kandiyohi County Historical Society and the Kandiyohi County Fair Board. The project includes installing lighting to highlight photos and displays. The fair hired Theatre of Fools for two Vaudeville shows and a juggling workshop for children as well as the Old West Society of Minnesota for living history and reenactments. All artists/historians are Minnesota-based.
To partner with the Lac qui Parle Historical Society to provide a historical display that takes the viewer through 141 years of the fair, county, and local 4-H history. The Lac qui Parle County Fair will also offer an interactive one room schoolhouse exhibit and host several arts demonstrations-as taught by the Milan Village Arts School.
Every year, more than 2,300 people volunteer in support of programs and projects delivered by the Minnesota Historical Society. With the addition of more than 100 Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (ACHF) projects, the need for volunteers also increased.
ACHF funding enabled the Society to recruit, coordinate and supervise volunteers helping with Legacy projects. As of December 2010, nearly 80 new volunteers were recruited, trained and placed, including 10 percent from diverse communities.
