St. Paul & Online - Minnesota Writers Series: A Council of Dolls
2024-01-27 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
The Minnesota Writers Series begins 2024 by welcoming Mona Susan Power, author of “A Council of Dolls” (Mariner Books, 2023). The acclaimed author will read excerpts from her recently published book, which will inspire conversation with the event moderator, Sheila O’Connor. Join Mona and Sheila as they discuss topics from the brutal impacts of generational trauma and systemic racism to the healing powers of love, family, and hope. This event is presented in partnership with The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, which works to understand and address the ongoing trauma created by U.S. Indian boarding school policies.
Mona Susan Power will be available for book signing and conversation after the event. “A Council of Dolls” will be available for purchase at the event, courtesy of Birchbark Books. You may also purchase the book online.
About the Book
From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools, “A Council of Dolls” is the story of three generations of Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna Dakhóta women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried. Gorgeous, quietly devastating, and ultimately hopeful, the novel shines a light on the echoing damage wrought by the boarding school system and the historical massacres of Indigenous people.
About the author
Mona Susan Power is the author of four books of fiction and has written short stories and essays that have appeared in publications and anthologies such as The Atlantic, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, and Granta. She received a bachelor’s degree and JD from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her first novel, “The Grass Dancer,” was published in 1994.
Mona is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna Dakhóta). She was born and raised in Chicago and now lives in Minneapolis.
About the moderator
Author Sheila O’Connor has written six novels and her short stories, poems, and essays have been featured in The New York Times, Minnesota Monthly, and Bellingham Review, among other publications. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a professor emeritus at Hamline University. Her most recent novel, “Evidence of V: A Novel in Fragments, Facts, and Fictions,” won the 2020 Minnesota Book Award (Novel & Short Story).
Registration
This free event will be in person with an option to attend virtually via Zoom. Registration required. Captioning will be available for those attending virtually.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

St. Paul - Symposium on Voting Rights: Our Past, Our Present, Our Future
2024-02-01 08:30 - 12:30 | Anderson Student Center, Woulfe Hall, UST, 2115 Summit Ave, St. Paul, 55105, United States
Please join FairVote Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas Racial Justice Initiative, Macalester College, the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and the African American Leadership Forum for a groundbreaking Symposium on Voting Rights: Our Past, Our Present, Our Future at the University of St. Thomas Anderson Student Center, Woulfe Hall, 2115 Summit Ave, St Paul on Thursday, Feb. 1, 8:30 am-12:30 pm, followed by a reception.
The symposium will convene a diverse and influential gathering of voting rights academics, thought leaders, students, community members, and political figures to engage in deep and meaningful conversations about the evolution of voting rights in Minnesota. We will tackle the challenges our democracy currently faces and explore critical reforms like ranked choice voting, campaign finance, redistricting, countering disinformation, and democratic participation, among others––and work together to build a more representative and inclusive future for our state and our country. MHC’s CEO, Kevin Lindsey, will moderate the panel entitled “Democracy Under Threat: Rise of Extremism.” There will be plenty of opportunity for Q&A throughout the morning and mingling with fellow participants at the reception.
Panels will cover the evolution of voting rights and democratic participation, threats to our democracy, and the future of democracy reform in Minnesota and the country. Confirmed speakers and panelists include: Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Secretary of State Steve Simon, Attorney General Keith Ellison, former Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, University of St. Thomas President Rob Vischer, St. Thomas Professor Yoruhu Williams, Humphrey School Dean Nisha Botchwey, Harvard Professor Danielle Allen, Stanford Professor Larry Diamond, MN House Majority Whip Athena Hollins, Rep. Cedrick Frazier, Rep. Esther Agbaje, and Rep. Emma Greenman.
Registration
This event is free but registration is required. Registration conducted by FairVote Minnesota.
Register Now

Minneapolis and Online - Westminster Town Hall Forum: Our Hidden Conversations
2024-02-01 18:00 - 20:30 | Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1200 Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 55403, United States
In her brand-new book, Peabody Award–winning journalist and Minneapolis native Michele Norris offers a transformative dialogue on race and identity in America, unearthed through her decade-long work at The Race Card Project.
More than half-a-million stories have been submitted. The results, collected in this new book, are shocking in their depth and candor, spanning the full spectrum of race, ethnicity, identity, and class.
At this first-of-its kind Forum, a cast of diverse readers will help bring a collection of those stories to the stage. Following this dramatic reading, Ms. Norris will sit down for an in-depth conversation about her work with the Race Card Project. She’ll discuss how even during times of great division, honesty, grace, and a willing ear can provide a bridge toward empathy and maybe even understanding.
About Michele Norris
Minneapolis native Michele Norris is one of America’s most trusted voices in journalism, earning several honors over a long career, including Peabody, Emmy, Dupont, and Goldsmith awards. She is a columnist for The Washington Post Opinion Section, the host of the Audible Original Podcast, Your Mama’s Kitchen, and from and from 2002 to 2012 she was a cohost of NPR’s All Things Considered. Norris is also the founding director of The Race Card Project, a Peabody Award–winning narrative archive where people around the world share their reflections on identity—in just six words. Her first book, The Grace of Silence, was named one of the best books of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Kansas City Star. Before joining NPR, Norris spent almost ten years as a reporter for ABC News covering politics, policy, and the dynamics of social change. Early in her career, she also worked as a staff writer for The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times.
Livestream
This event will be available via livestream on May 20 on the Westminster Town Hall Forum website and Facebook page.
Registration
This event is free and open to all.
There is no ticketing or registration. Seating at Westminster is on a first-come, first seated basis. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. Music by T. Mychael Rambo at 5:30 p.m. Forum will begin at 6:00 p.m.

Online - Refraction: A Gender and Sexuality Discussion Series
2024-02-20 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Session 2: Transgender Justice
Issues related to gender and sexuality continue to be paramount in many areas, including politics, law, health care, parenting, identity, and social justice. In this three-part discussion series, we will consider how gender and sexuality are refracted, or how their meaning and social expression are changing and moving as we think through the topics of book bans, transgender rights, and masculinity.
In this session of Refraction: A Gender and Sexuality Discussion Series, our speakers will help to set the stage on the current landscape of transgender rights and issues nationally, and what is happening specifically within Minnesota. Brittany Stewart from Gender Justice, a Minnesota based organization advancing gender equity through the law, will be joined by Máel Embser-Herbert, professor emeritus, U.S. Army Veteran and an editor of With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Troops in Their Own Words, which shares personal stories from transgender people fighting for their right to serve in the U.S. military.
What you can expect from this series:

Scholars, experts, community members, and authors will share what the landscape looks like nationally and in Minnesota, as well as talk about their personal experiences and perspectives.
Each session will have a resource list of articles, books, and organizations to help you gain a deeper understanding of the issues at hand.
Engage in small and large group discussions as well as exploring ways to effect change and take action.

Registration
Registration is required. There is no cost to attend; sign up for one or all three sessions. Each session will take place virtually; a zoom link will be sent closer to the date of the session.
Educators can receive CEU’s for attending.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Prior Lake - Understand Native Minnesota Educator Academy
2024-02-21 08:30 - 16:00, 2024-03-14 08:30 - 16:00 | Mystic Lake Center, 2400 Mystic Lake Boulevard NW, Prior Lake, MN, 55372, United States
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, through its Understand Native Minnesota campaign, is hosting two free Educator Academy events on February 21 and March 14, from 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. These one-day events offer professional development workshops to introduce K-12 educators to a variety of ways to teach Native American topics in classroom settings. They are intended for educators in Minnesota and will feature Native American authors, artists, and education experts. Continuing Education credits for teachers and administrators will be offered.
These events will be held at Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Attendance is free of charge and meals (breakfast and lunch) will be provided. Each event is limited to 300 participants. These are the final Educator Academy events to be offered by the SMSC’s Understand Native Minnesota campaign.
The Minnesota Humanities Center will be presenting on Teaching American Indian Content to All, as well as tabling. If you plan to attend, please come by and say hello!
Registration
Registration Questions: info@understandnativemn.org
Register Now

St. Paul & Online - Minnesota Writers Series: Through the Banks of the Red Cedar
2024-02-24 14:00 - 16:00 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Join us for the February 2024 edition of the Minnesota Writers Series as we welcome multidisciplinary artist, Maya Washington, who will discuss her documentary film, “Through the Banks of the Red Cedar,” and memoir, “Through the Banks of the Red Cedar: My Father and the Team that Changed the Game.” Through film clips, book readings, and conversation, Maya will highlight her bond with and appreciation for her father, Gene Washington, a celebrated professional athlete who came of age during the peak of the civil rights movement. Maya will be joined by noted author and educator, Dr. Artika Tyner, who will moderate the discussion.
Maya Washington will be available for book signing and conversation after the event. “Through the Banks of the Red Cedar: My Father and the Team that Changed the Game,” will be available for purchase at the event.
About the Book
“Through the Banks of the Red Cedar” follows Maya Washington’s path towards understanding the legacy of her father, Gene Washington. Maya retraces her father’s journey from the segregated south to Michigan State University during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement and his journey as a groundbreaking NFL player after the 1967 draft. Through the memoir, Maya reflects on the influence her father’s childhood had on her upbringing, the emotional bond of teammates and friends, and the deepened connection she has to her family and football.
About the Author
Maya Washington is an award-winning, multi-hyphenate artist: writer, poet, director, narrative and documentary filmmaker (writer/director/producer), actress, creative director, visualist (photography), and arts educator. Her background, on stage/camera and behind the scenes, has given her the opportunity to work on everything from public art, live theatre, commercials and print ads, to web series, films and television. Maya received a BA in Dramatic Arts from the University of Southern California and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University. As a writer, Maya’s poetry and prose have been featured in a number of literary journals and notable anthologies including “The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2 : Black Girl Magic” (Haymarket Books 2018), “Nothing To Lose But Our Chains: Black Voices on Activism, Resistance and Love” (Justice Matters Press, 2018), and “The Beiging of America: Personal Narratives About Being Mixed Race in the Twenty-First Century” (2Leaf Press, 2017). Additionally, Maya received a Pushcart nomination from The Under Review literary journal for her poetry inspired by the historic MLK Tennis Buffs of St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood. She is the editor of “White Space Poetry Anthology” featuring the work of deaf and hearing poets as a companion to her award-winning short film starring Ryan Lane, “White Space.” Her award-winning film, “Through the Banks of the Red Cedar,” about her father Vikings Legend Gene Washington and the desegregation of college football aired on the Big Ten Network and is currently available on PBS platforms. Her memoir, “Through the Banks of the Red Cedar: My Father and the Team that Changed the Game,” is an Amazon Editor’s pick for Best History, and was a 2023 Finalist for the Minnesota Book Award. As a freelance tv and film director, Maya has directed episodes of the Fox series “The Killer Next Door,” History Channel’s “I Was There,” and the PBS Kids series “Black SciGirls.”
Besides being her first memoir, “Through the Banks of the Red Cedar: My Father and the Team that Changed the Game” is also a documentary, “Through the Banks of the Red Cedar,” directed, produced, and written by Maya. The documentary is available on PBS platforms including PBS Documentaries Channel through Amazon Prime, Comcast, and iTunes. The film has been shown at community screenings and film festivals across the country. A curriculum for communities and educators is available at throughthebanksoftheredcedar.com.
About the Moderator
Advocate, attorney, author, and educator Dr. Artika Tyner is committed to creating a more inclusive and racially and economically just world. She received her BA from Hamline University and her JD, Master of Public Policy, and EdD from the University of St. Thomas. A prolific author, Dr. Tyner has written books for children and adults promoting literacy, cultural awareness, and leadership development. She is the founder and director of the nonprofit Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute.
Registration
This free event will be in-person with an option to attend virtually via Zoom. Registration required. Captioning will be available for those attending virtually.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Attend In-Person
Attend Online

Online - Refraction: A Gender and Sexuality Discussion Series
2024-02-27 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Session 3: Detoxing Masculinity
Issues related to gender and sexuality continue to be paramount in many areas, including politics, law, health care, parenting, identity, and social justice. In this three-part discussion series, we will consider how gender and sexuality are refracted, or how their meaning and social expression are changing and moving as we think through the topics of book bans, transgender rights, and masculinity.
Many experts agree that the men and boys of the United States are not ok. By many measures they are falling behind and many of the impacts are less widely talked about. This session of Refraction: A Gender and Sexuality Discussion Series will seek to pull apart the term toxic masculinity and look instead at detoxing masculinity. Hamline Professor Ryan Jerome LeCount will talk about masculinity and its social expression, particularly in the area of politics and social change in Minnesota and the United States. He will be joined by author Jeremy Norton, who recently published Trauma Sponges, a first-hand account of his experience working as an EMT in the emergency response sector, and what it means for a male-dominated industry to be both full of bravura heroics and deal with intense trauma on a daily basis.
What you can expect from this series:

Scholars, experts, community members, and authors will share what the landscape looks like nationally and in Minnesota, as well as talk about their personal experiences and perspectives.
Each session will have a resource list of articles, books, and organizations to help you gain a deeper understanding of the issues at hand.
Engage in small and large group discussions as well as exploring ways to effect change and take action.

Registration
Registration is required. There is no cost to attend; sign up for one or all three sessions. Each session will take place virtually; a zoom link will be sent closer to the date of the session.
Educators can receive CEU’s for attending.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Duluth - We Are Water MN
2024-02-29 - 2024-04-22 | Hartley Nature Center, 3001 Woodland Ave, Duluth, MN, 55803, United States
The We Are Water MN traveling exhibit examines water issues statewide and in local communities through personal stories, histories, and scientific information. It strengthens Minnesotans’ relationships with water, exposes visitors to new perspectives, and increases participation in water stewardship activities.
Host Partner: Hartley Nature Center
Want to know more about We Are Water MN?
Learn more about the We Are Water MN exhibit, partnership, and programs.
Learn More

Minneapolis - Minnesota Writers Series: American Precariat
2024-03-27 18:00 - 20:00 | Capri Theater, 2027 W Broadway, Minneapolis, 55411, United States
Join us for the March 2024 edition of the Minnesota Writers Series as we welcome Zeke Caligiuri, Chris Fausto, and Fong Lee, three editors of the anthology “American Precariat: Parables of Exclusion,” published by Coffee House Press. Through readings and discussions, the editors will share the genesis of the anthology, and the importance of bringing to light the stories of those society deems invisible and chooses to exclude. The editors will be joined by Mike Alberti, executive director of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, who will moderate the discussion.
Zeke, Chris, and Fong will be available for book signing and further conversation after the event. “American Precariat: Parables of Exclusion” will be available for purchase from Subtext Books at the event.
This event will take place at the Capri Theater in North Minneapolis and is presented in partnership with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop (MPWW), which connects incarcerated individuals to arts and educational programming and fosters a creative community of writers both within and outside of prisons and correctional facilities.
About the Book
This groundbreaking anthology of essays edited by incarcerated writers takes a sharp look at the complexity and fluidity of class and caste systems in the United States. Featuring accounts that include gig work as a delivery driver, homelessness among trans youth, and life with immense student loan debt, in addition to transcripts of insightful discussions between the editors, “American Precariat” demonstrates how various and often invisible extreme instability can be. With the understanding that widespread recognition of collective precarity is an urgent concern, the anthology situates each individual portrait within societal structures of exclusion, scarcity, and criminality.
About the Editors
Zeke Caligiuri is a writer and activist from South Minneapolis. He is the author of “This is Where I Am,” published by University of Minnesota Press. He has won multiple awards through the PEN Prison Writing Contest and is the co-founder of the Stillwater Writer’s Collective, the first all-prisoner created and facilitated collective in the country. He is a contributor to “The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting a Writer’s Life in Prison” as well as “School, Not Jail: How Educators Can Disrupt School Pushout and Mass Incarceration.” He is directly impacted by over two decades of incarceration and is now currently the re-entry education coordinator for the Minnesota Justice Research Center re-investing in the humanization of those still stuck within the captivity business.
Chris Fausto Cabrera is a multi-genre artist, writer & activist recently released from incarceration after 21 years. His work has appeared in: The Colorado Review, The Antioch Review, Puerto del Sol, The Woodward Review, among others. “The Parameters of Our Cage,” his prose epistle project with photographer Alec Soth is released through MACK books. His latest project is “American Precariat: Parables of Exclusion” where he serves as an editor, published by Coffee House Press. Cabrera co-founded The Stillwater Writers Collective, partnered with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. He works closely with Until We Are All Free and We Are All Criminals to bring attention to the multifaceted ways justice impacts people.
Fong Lee is a Saint-Paul-based artist and We Are All Criminal’s first Storytelling Fellow. Fong spent nearly 18 years inside Minnesota State prisons; he is a celebrated poet, with publications through the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and Asian American Writers Workshop, a beloved painter, and a published photographer. Fong is a restorative justice practitioner and the Storytelling Curator with The Legal Revolution. Fong and his family immigrated to the U.S. as Hmong refugees when Fong was a child, after his family was displaced from their home in Laos. His experience and expertise with incarceration and displacement enable him to make We Are All Criminals all the more dynamic, including strengthening the collaborations between inside and outside artistic partners.
About the Moderator
Mike Alberti has been an administrator for MPWW since 2016, when he graduated from the University of Minnesota with his MFA in Creative Writing. Mike’s fiction has been published in many venues, and his first book, “Some People Let You Down,” won the 2020 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. He was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico and now lives in Minneapolis. In addition to his work with MPWW, he teaches at Century College.
Registration
This event is free but registration is required. K-12 Educators will receive 1 clock hour upon completion of the event.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Rochester - Poetry Sparks! Lines, Lyrics, & Laureates
2024-04-13 11:00 - 13:00 | Historic Chateau Theater, 15 1st Street Southwest, Rochester, MN, 55902, United States
Celebrate National Poetry Month with us! Join Minnesota’s Poet Laureate Gwen Nell Westerman and City of Rochester Poet Laureate Jean Prokott for Poetry Sparks! Lines, Lyrics, & Laureates. At this family friendly event, Gwen and Jean will share some of their poetry, and then help you write your own. Contribute to community poetry, visit our creative writing stations, write a poem to give away on poem in your pocket day, and take a chance on mystery poems. Don’t miss this opportunity to create poetry with the Laureates, and have fun while diving into the joy of poetic expression!
This event is presented in partnership with Southeast MN Poets, supporting poets of all ages and stages in their careers. The Southeast MN Poets foster growth, experience, and understanding of the art of poetry through writing, reading, and discussion.
About the Laureates
Gwen Nell Westerman is Minnesota’s current Poet Laureate, and was appointed in 2021. An enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate Nation, Gwen is the first Native poet to hold the role of Laureate for Minnesota. She teaches English and Humanities at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and in addition to her 2013 poetry collection “Follow the Blackbirds,” recently published the collection “Songs, Blood Deep”, which has been shortlisted for the 2024 MN Book Awards.
Jean Prokott’s poetry collection “The Second Longest Day of the Year” won the Howling Bird Press Book Prize (Howling Bird Press). She is the author of the chapbook “The Birthday Effect” (Black Sunflowers Press), is a recipient of the AWP Intro Journals Award, and of the John Calvin Rezmerski Memorial Grand Prize with the League of Minnesota Poets. She has poetry and nonfiction published in Verse Daily, Rattle, and Arts & Letters, among other journals. Prokott is the Poet Laureate of Rochester, Minnesota.
Registration
Registration is not required for this free event. Families, kids, all ages welcome. Poetry reading will begin at 11:00 a.m. Participants are invited to drop in any time between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Holdingford - We Are Water MN
2024-04-25 - 2024-06-17 | Art in Motion on the Lake Wobegon Trail, 1400 4th St, Holdingford, MN, 56340, United States
The We Are Water MN traveling exhibit examines water issues statewide and in local communities through personal stories, histories, and scientific information. It strengthens Minnesotans’ relationships with water, exposes visitors to new perspectives, and increases participation in water stewardship activities.
Host Partner: Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District
Want to know more about We Are Water MN?
Learn more about the We Are Water MN exhibit, partnership, and programs.
Learn More

Minneapolis – Minnesota Writers Series: Tartarus
2024-04-28 14:00 - 16:00 | The Loft at Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55415, United States
April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate, the Minnesota Writers Series will feature Ty Chapman and his debut poetry collection, “Tartarus,” published by Button Poetry. Join us in downtown Minneapolis at Open Book, for an afternoon of readings and discussions. Ty will be in conversation with Sun Yung Shin to reflect on the origins and themes of the collection and why he decided to take up the poetic form.
Both Ty and Sun Yung will be available for book signing and further conversation after the event. “Tartarus” will be available for purchase at the event through Strive Publishing and Bookstore.
This event is presented in partnership with The Loft Literary Center, a haven for readers and writers, and where both Ty and Sun Yung were recently named Lit!Commons Experts.
About the Collection
Between three sections of Basquiat-inspired vignettes, “Tartarus” offers the reader an unflinching look into Chapman’s emerging understanding of his relationship to Black masculinity through familial ties, the oscillation between nihilism and hope, and the ever present tensions felt moving through a state which sees the existence of your body as an inherent danger.
About our Guests
Ty Chapman is an author and poet based in Minnesota. He is the author of “Sarah Rising” (Beaming 2022); “Looking for Happy,” a Minnesota Book Award finalist (Beaming 2023); “Stokes,” written with John Coy (Lerner 2024); “James Finds the Beat” (Free Spirit 2024); and “Tartarus” (Button Poetry 2024). Ty is a 2024 Cave Canem fellow; a 2022 Center for Arts + Social Justice Fellow; a Mirrors & Windows fellow; and a Mentor Series fellow. He holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults through Vermont College of Fine Arts.
신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin was born in Seoul, Korea and was raised in the Chicago area. She is a poet, writer, and cultural worker. She is the editor of “What We Hunger For: Refugee and Immigrant Stories on Food and Family” (2021) and of “A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota,” author of poetry collections “The Wet Hex” (winner of the Midland Authors Society Award for Poetry and finalist for a Minnesota Book Award) “Unbearable Splendor” (finalist for the 2017 PEN USA Literary Award for Poetry, winner of the 2016 Minnesota Book Award for poetry); “Rough, and Savage”; and “Skirt Full of Black” (winner of the 2007 Asian American Literary Award for poetry), co-editor of “Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption,” and author of bilingual illustrated book for children “Cooper’s Lesson” and picture book “Where We Come From,” co-written with Diane Wilson, Shannon Gibney, and John Coy. Her forthcoming picture book, “Revolutions are Made of Love: Grace Lee Boggs and James Boggs,” co-written with Mélina Mangal, will be published in 2025.
Registration
This free event will be in-person at Open Book; registration is required.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Winona - Sketches of Minnesota
2024-05-21 17:30 - 20:00 | Peter’s Biergarten, 54 East 3rd Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Join the Minnesota Humanities Center, Danger Boat Productions, and local host partners for the inaugural Sketches of Minnesota civic improv comedy tour! These free events will use laughter and comedy to celebrate Minnesota communities, promote dialogue, bridge divides, and help find ways to work constructively across differences in today’s political environment.
Beginning with a catered meal, these gatherings will invite audience members to share what makes their town great, what they think people get wrong about it, what local divisions concern them, and what future they imagine. An improv comedy troupe will listen in on the conversations, taking everything they heard from residents and bringing it to life on stage through entirely unscripted improv comedy theater.
This event is one of the first seven tour stops. A culminating performance will take place later in 2024, sharing stories from around the state. Visit host partner and/or venue site for details and registration specific to this event.
The work of the Minnesota Humanities Center is to create a stronger Minnesota by increasing our understanding of the beauty, wisdom and stories of its people. Through partnerships, we facilitate the spaces, like Sketches of Minnesota, that seek to build connections and deepen understanding of ourselves and our communities in pursuit of a more just society.
Host Partner: Winona State University
Registration
This event is free but registration is required.
Register Now

Minneapolis - Westminster Town Hall Forum: Arc Toward Justice 2024
2024-05-23 18:00 - 20:30 | Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1200 Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 55403, United States
Wesley Lowery is the author of American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress. It tells the story of how the election of the nation’s first Black president reignited long-burning embers of white supremacy. It was a New York Times best-seller, was named one of NPR’s books of the year, and described as “indispensable” by Ibram X. Kendi.
Following the police killing of Michael Brown, Lowery launched Fatal Force — a real-time national database of people shot and killed by the police. That database — which remains the most reliable public data on police shootings — won the Pulitzer Prize, the George Polk Award, and the Peabody Award and was named one of the decade’s top 10 works of journalism.
He is also a Journalist-in-Residence at the CUNY Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and a contributing editor at The Marshall Project. He is the executive editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop, an innovative “training hospital” journalism non-profit based at American University in Washington DC that trains a rising generation of journalists by partnering them with professional newsrooms to work on projects that fill crucial gaps in media coverage.
More About Wesley Lowery
Lowery began his career covering politics, but in 2014 was sent to Ferguson, Mo., to cover the police killing of Michael Brown for the Washington Post. In the years that followed, he would chronicle the early years of the Black Lives Matter movement, writing a bestselling book and launching Fatal Force.
In the years that followed he led and contributed to investigative projects that examined unsolved homicides in major American cities (Pulitzer Prize finalist), what happens to fired police officers, so-called repeat offender criminal defendants, fentanyl overdoses in major cities (in 2017 and 2022), the failures to catch the deadliest serial killer in American history, and what happens to people who are shot by the police and survive. He’s latest book, American Whitelash, published in June 2023, chronicles the rise in white supremacist violence in the years since Barack Obama’s election.
Lowery hosted “Unfinished: Ernie’s Secret” an investigative podcast that explores the life of Ernest Withers, a legendary civil rights photographer who was also a paid FBI informant. He also served as co-host of “More Than A Vote: Our Voices, Our Vote.” He was an executive producer of In the Cold Dark Night, an Emmy-nominated documentary chronicling the effort to solve the 1983 lynching of Timothy Coggins.
Webby Award for Best News and Politics Podcast (2021)
The Frederick Douglass 200 (2019)
Christopher Isherwood prize for autobiographical prose (2017)
Ebony 100 (2016)
The Root 100 (2015 & 2016)
Apex Society Power 30 under 30 recipient
RARE 40 under 40 recipient
Lotos Foundation Prize in the Arts and Sciences (2017)
Wayne State University “Spirit of Diversity” Award (2015)
Emerging Journalist of the Year, The National Assoc of Black Journalists (2014)
Registration
This event is free and open to all.
There is no ticketing or registration. Seating at Westminster is on a first-come, first seated basis. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. Music at 5:30 p.m. Forum will begin at 6:00 p.m.

West St. Paul - Sketches of Minnesota
2024-06-06 17:30 - 20:00 | West St. Paul Sports Complex, 1650 Oakdale Ave, West St. Paul, 55118, United States
Join the Minnesota Humanities Center, Danger Boat Productions, and local host partners for the inaugural Sketches of Minnesota civic improv comedy tour! These free events will use laughter and comedy to celebrate Minnesota communities, promote dialogue, bridge divides, and help find ways to work constructively across differences in today’s political environment.
Beginning with a catered meal, these gatherings will invite audience members to share what makes their town great, what they think people get wrong about it, what local divisions concern them, and what future they imagine. An improv comedy troupe will listen in on the conversations, taking everything they heard from residents and bringing it to life on stage through entirely unscripted improv comedy theater.
This event is one of the first seven tour stops. A culminating performance will take place later in 2024, sharing stories from around the state. Visit host partner and/or venue site for details and registration specific to this event.
The work of the Minnesota Humanities Center is to create a stronger Minnesota by increasing our understanding of the beauty, wisdom and stories of its people. Through partnerships, we facilitate the spaces, like Sketches of Minnesota, that seek to build connections and deepen understanding of ourselves and our communities in pursuit of a more just society.
Host Partner: City of West St. Paul
Registration
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS CLOSED

St. Paul - Juneteenth Reckoning with Slavery: MN African American History
2024-06-19 11:00 - 14:00 | OMG Studios, 550 Vandalia Street Suite 220, St. Paul, 55102, United States
Co-produced by OMG Studios and the Minnesota Humanities Center, this documentary challenges our understanding of slavery, its impact on Minnesota, and how we reconcile our past by taking viewers on a present-day journey to Ghana, to the quarters of Harriet and Dred Scott, and into conversations with current and future scholars. Featuring Akwamu Traditional Area’s King Odeneho Kwafo Akoto, III and Queen Mother Nana Afrakoma, II, of West Africa, Ghana, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter III, MN Humanities CEO Kevin Lindsey, St. Cloud State University American Studies Chair and Minnesota Book Award Winner Dr. Christopher Lehman, and Minnesota creative treasures T. Mychael Rambo, Thomasina Petrus and concluding with voices of the Black Youth Healing Arts Center (BYHAC).
This year’s documentary film is brought to audiences by Ujamaa Place, St. Paul Public Library, and the City of St. Paul.
Funding for this project is provided in part by Thrivent, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the African American Leadership Forum, the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, Minnesota Association for Black Lawyers, Mortenson, and Mutual of America.
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North Branch - We Are Water MN
2024-06-20 - 2024-08-12 | North Branch Area Library, 6355 379th St., North Branch, MN, 55056, United States
The We Are Water MN traveling exhibit examines water issues statewide and in local communities through personal stories, histories, and scientific information. It strengthens Minnesotans’ relationships with water, exposes visitors to new perspectives, and increases participation in water stewardship activities.
Host Partner: Chisago County
Want to know more about We Are Water MN?
Learn more about the We Are Water MN exhibit, partnership, and programs.
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Minneapolis - Kumbayah the Juneteenth Story
2024-06-21 11:00 - 13:00 | Northrop, 84 Church St SE, Minneapolis, 55455, United States
Minnesota Humanities Center & Northrop Present: Kumbayah the Juneteenth Story
Minnesota Humanities Center and Northrop are proud to bring Kumbayah the Juneteenth Story to the Twin Cities in collaboration with Sweet Potato Comfort Pie, The Liberal Arts Engagement Hub, and local organizations. In 2021, Juneteenth was written into law as a national day of observance. Following, on February 3rd, 2023, Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Minnesota. Although awareness has grown, many people are still unfamiliar with why we celebrate Juneteenth and the insight it offers in addressing current social injustice.
Kumbayah the Juneteenth Story Performance
Kumbayah the Juneteenth Story, written by Rose McGee, is a 90-minute fictitious, two-act play that addresses a factual and traumatic time in our history was deliberately withheld that the Civil War was over and Black people were no longer to be kept as slaves with states in rebellion. Storytelling and music weave together mesmerizing scenes. Although tragedy is depicted, this play within a play is tremendously uplifting. The story begins with a Prologue set in the early 1800s in a small West African village where a young mother and her small son are being abducted from their home by slave catchers. Act One: Scene One is set in present time in a popular North Minneapolis soul-food restaurant where a group of youths and adults ultimately end up discussing what Juneteenth means. Before long they all agree to attend a play about Juneteenth. The story then shifts into 1863 on the Turner Plantation in Tyler, Texas with the character Frederick Douglass as Narrator. Immediately following the play, Dr. Amelious Whyte, University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts Interim Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will moderate a 20-minute Q&A with cast, bringing the play back to present time.
Interpretation is best suited for ages 8 and up.
Join us for pre-show activities starting at 10:30 a.m.
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation services will be available at this event.
Funding for this project is provided in part by Thrivent, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the African American Leadership Forum, the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, Minnesota Association for Black Lawyers, Mortenson, Mutual of America, and The University of Minnesota Imagine Fund.
Thank you to our partners: Northrop, Sweet Potato Comfort Pie, The Liberal Arts Engagement Hub, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund
Registration
Registration for the performance through the Northrop Box Office.
Registration Questions: umntix@umn.edu
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St. Paul - An Evening of Haiku and Anishinaabe Song with Kimberly Blaeser, Gordon Henry, Jr., and Gerald Vizenor.
2024-06-26 17:30 - 20:00 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Join us for a very special evening of poetry and music with esteemed poets and writers, Kimberly Blaeser, Gordon Henry, Jr., and Gerald Vizenor. Our guests will share haiku, Anishinaabe dream songs, music, as well as conversation with one another and the audience on their work and inspirations. In the spirit of nourishing our bodies and our minds, prior to the event, we invite you to join us for a complimentary community meal, during which we will be joined by special musical guest, Phil Fried.
Books by Blaeser, Henry, and Vizenor will be available for purchase at the event through Birchbark Books, and book signing will take place after event activities have ended.
This event is presented in partnership with Indigenous Nations Poets (IN-NA-PO), a national Indigenous poetry community committed to mentoring emerging writers, nurturing the growth of Indigenous poetic practices, and raising the visibility of all Native writers past, present, and future. In-Na-Po recognizes the role of poetry in sustaining tribal sovereign nations and Native languages.
About our guests:
Kimberly Blaeser, past Wisconsin Poet Laureate and founding director of Indigenous Nations Poets, is a poet, photographer, and scholar. She is the author of six poetry collections, most recently Ancient Light (2024), Résister en dansant/Ikwe-niimi: Dancing Resistance (2020), and Copper Yearning (2019). Blaeser edited Traces in Blood, Bone, and Stone: Contemporary Ojibwe Poetry, wrote the monograph Gerald Vizenor: Writing in the Oral Tradition on the work of fellow White Earth writer, and served as contributing editor for When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry (2020). Her poetry is widely anthologized and her photographs, picto-poems, and ekphrastic pieces have appeared in exhibits such as “Visualizing Sovereignty,” and “No More Stolen Sisters.” An Anishinaabe activist and environmentalist, she is an enrolled member of White Earth Nation and grew up on the reservation. The 2024 Mackey Chair in Creative Writing at Beloit College, Blaeser is a Professor Emerita at UW–Milwaukee and an MFA faculty member for Institute of American Indian Arts. She serves on the Poetry Coalition of the Academy of American Poets, and as Vice President of Letters for Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. Her accolades include a Lifetime Achievement Award from Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas. Blaeser splits her time between her home in rural Wisconsin and a water-access cabin adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.
An Anishinaabe poet and novelist, Gordon Henry, Jr. is an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation of Minnesota. He is the author of the poetry collection Spirit Matters: White Clay, Red Exits, Distant Other (2022), a mixed-genre collection The Failure of Certain Charms and Other Disparate (2007), a chapbook Outside White Earth (1986), and the novel The Light People (1994) which won an American Book Award. He co-published an educational reader The Ojibway (2004) with George Cornell, and his poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in various journal and anthologies in the U. S. and Europe including in New Poets of Native Nations (2018), When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through (2020), and Living Nations, Living Words (2021). A past Professor in the English Department at Michigan State University, he also served for many years as Senior Editor of the American Indian Studies Series at Michigan State University Press, and held a Fulbright Lectureship in Spain. Gordon now lives in Empire, Michigan.
Gerald Vizenor is Professor Emeritus of American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a citizen of the White Earth Nation in Minnesota, and has published more than forty books, novels, literary and cultural studies, and poetry. Native Provenance: The Betrayal of Cultural Creativity, a collection of essays, is his most recent publication. Vizenor has received many awards including the American Book Award for Griever: An American Monkey King in China, the Western Literature Association Distinguished Achievement Award, and the Mark Twain Award from the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature.
Registration
There is no cost to attend this event, however registration is required. A complimentary light evening meal will be served at 5:30 p.m. prior to the event start at 6:00 p.m.
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St. Paul - Indigenous Nations Poets: Poetry Reading
2024-06-28 17:30 - 20:00 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
The Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC), in partnership with Indigenous Nations Poets (IN-NA-PO) is honored to present an evening of poetry readings with this year’s IN-NA-PO fellows and visiting writers. Capping off their week-long retreat at MHC, a group of IN-NA-PO fellows and visiting writers will share some of their original work and engage each other and the audience in conversation. Fellows taking part include Anangookwe Wolf, Anthony Ceballos, Bonney Hartley, Halee Kirkwood, Kalehua Kim, Kinsale Drake, Sunni Parisien, and Tacey Atsitty. Hosting this event will be former Wisconsin Poet Laureate Kimberly Blaeser, City of Minneapolis Poet Laureate Heid E. Erdrich, and Minnesota Poet Laureate Gwen Nell Westerman.
In the spirit of nourishing our bodies and our minds, prior to the event, we invite you to join us for a complimentary community meal. Books will be available for purchase at the event through Birchbark Books, and book signing will take place after event activities have ended.
This event is presented in partnership with Indigenous Nations Poets (IN-NA-PO), a national Indigenous poetry community committed to mentoring emerging writers, nurturing the growth of Indigenous poetic practices, and raising the visibility of all Native writers past, present, and future. In-Na-Po recognizes the role of poetry in sustaining tribal sovereign nations and Native languages.
About the event hosts:
Kimberly Blaeser, past Wisconsin Poet Laureate and founding director of Indigenous Nations Poets, is a poet, photographer, and scholar. She is the author of six poetry collections, most recently Ancient Light (2024), Résister en dansant/Ikwe-niimi: Dancing Resistance (2020), and Copper Yearning (2019). Her photographs, picto-poems, and ekphrastic pieces have appeared in exhibits such as “Visualizing Sovereignty,” and “No More Stolen Sisters.” An Anishinaabe activist and environmentalist, she is an enrolled member of White Earth Nation and grew up on the reservation. The 2024 Mackey Chair in Creative Writing at Beloit College, Blaeser is a Professor Emerita at UW–Milwaukee and an MFA faculty member for Institute of American Indian Arts. Her accolades include a Lifetime Achievement Award from Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas. Blaeser splits her time between her home in rural Wisconsin and a water-access cabin adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.
Heid E. Erdrich grew up in Wahpeton, North Dakota and is Ojibwe enrolled at Turtle Mountain. Heid teaches, edits, and curates visual arts exhibitions with a focus on Native American art. Many of her seven poetry collections contain works created for collaborations with visual artists. Her poetry collection Little Big Bully, 2020, won a National Poetry Series award and the Bobbitt prize from The Library of Congress. Heid edited the 2018 anthology New Poets of Native Nations which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. She is the 2024 Minneapolis Poet Laureate.
Gwen Nell Westerman is a poet, visual artist, and scholar. Her roots are deep in the landscape of the tallgrass prairie and reveal themselves in her art and writing. She is an enrolled citizen of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, and her father’s family is from the Heipa District. Her mother’s family is from the Flint District of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Neither of her parents spoke English when they were sent as small children to boarding schools in Oklahoma and South Dakota. Singing and writing for as long as she can remember, Gwen understands from experience the important ways language and the land shape who we are. She was appointed as the Poet Laureate of Minnesota in 2021.
Registration
There is no cost to attend this event, however registration is required. A complimentary light evening meal will be served at 5:30 p.m. prior to the event start at 6:00 p.m.
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Duluth - Sketches of Minnesota
2024-07-09 17:00 - 20:00, 2024-07-10 17:00 - 20:00 | Zeitgeist Center for Arts, 222 East Superior Street, Duluth, MN, 55802, United States
Join the Minnesota Humanities Center, Danger Boat Productions, and local host partners for the inaugural Sketches of Minnesota civic improv comedy tour! These free events will use laughter and comedy to celebrate Minnesota communities, promote dialogue, bridge divides, and help find ways to work constructively across differences in today’s political environment.
Beginning with a catered meal, these gatherings will invite audience members to share what makes their town great, what they think people get wrong about it, what local divisions concern them, and what future they imagine. An improv comedy troupe will listen in on the conversations, taking everything they heard from residents and bringing it to life on stage through entirely unscripted improv comedy theater.
This event is one of the first seven tour stops. A culminating performance will take place later in 2024, sharing stories from around the state. Visit host partner and/or venue site for details and registration specific to this event.
The work of the Minnesota Humanities Center is to create a stronger Minnesota by increasing our understanding of the beauty, wisdom and stories of its people. Through partnerships, we facilitate the spaces, like Sketches of Minnesota, that seek to build connections and deepen understanding of ourselves and our communities in pursuit of a more just society.
Host Partner: Zeitgeist Center for Arts
Registration
This event is free but registration is required. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. If you would like to attend the show only, please select the 7:30pm time slot. If you would like to attend a free pre-show dinner at Zeitgeist Restaurant + Bar, please select your desired time slot from 5:00pm-6:15pm. Approximate show runtime is 60-75 min, including Q&A.
Registration Questions: jessica@zeitgeistarts.com
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St. Paul - Juneteenth Reckoning with Slavery: Minnesota African American History
2024-07-10 15:00 - 17:00 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
K-12 educators are invited to attend this special film screening and discussion. Co-produced by OMG Studios and the Minnesota Humanities Center, this documentary challenges our understanding of slavery, its impact on Minnesota, and how we reconcile our past by taking viewers on a present-day journey to Ghana, to the quarters of Harriet and Dred Scott, and into conversations with current and future scholars. Featuring Akwamu Traditional Area’s King Odeneho Kwafo Akoto, III and Queen Mother Nana Afrakoma, II, of West Africa, Ghana, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter III, MN Humanities CEO Kevin Lindsey, St. Cloud State University American Studies Chair and Minnesota Book Award Winner Dr. Christopher Lehman, and Minnesota creative treasures T. Mychael Rambo, Thomasina Petrus and concluding with voices of the Black Youth Healing Arts Center (BYHAC).
Following the 40-minute film, there will be a facilitated conversation on how to intentionally bring this history into classrooms.
K-12 educators will receive 2 clock hours.
This year’s documentary film is brought to audiences by Ujamaa Place, St. Paul Public Library, and the City of St. Paul.
Registration
There is no cost to attend this event, however registration is required. Refreshments will be provided.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
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St. Paul – Shakespeare in Our Parks: Twelfth Night
2024-07-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
The Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) is delighted to host Classical Actors Ensemble during their 10th season of Shakespeare in Our Parks! Join us on the MHC lawn as we cheer, laugh, and swoon at this year’s production: “Twelfth Night, or What You Will.” This romantic comedy presents the misadventures of shipwrecked twins who separately wash ashore in a distant land, each thinking the other dead, and soon become entangled in an unrequited love triangle of noble bon vivants.
Picnics, lawn chairs, sun umbrellas, and blankets are welcome. Note that the performance is in an open field with minimal shade. Please plan accordingly. Can’t make it on July 14? Check out Classical Actors Ensemble’s full calendar for other performances across the Twin Cities this summer.
From Classical Actors Ensemble: “The Theater is a sacred place. It is a public forum where actors and audience gather to contemplate what it means to be human. Shakespeare and his contemporaries grappled with that question in some of the English language’s best poetry, leaving behind a canon of compelling stories with universal themes that provide invigorating challenge for actors and an awe-inspiring legacy for audiences. Classical Actors Ensemble performs the plays of the English Renaissance as they were originally intended: as popular entertainment for everyone. By demonstrating why these works of art are considered classic, we freshly prove their relevance in today’s world.”
Registration
Registration is encouraged, but not required. There is no cost to attend.
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Glencoe - Sketches of Minnesota
2024-07-16 17:30 - 20:00 | Glencoe City Center, 1107 11th Street East, Glencoe, 55336, United States
Join the Minnesota Humanities Center, Danger Boat Productions, and local host partners for the inaugural Sketches of Minnesota civic improv comedy tour! These free events will use laughter and comedy to celebrate Minnesota communities, promote dialogue, bridge divides, and help find ways to work constructively across differences in today’s political environment.
Beginning with a catered meal, these gatherings will invite audience members to share what makes their town great, what they think people get wrong about it, what local divisions concern them, and what future they imagine. An improv comedy troupe will listen in on the conversations, taking everything they heard from residents and bringing it to life on stage through entirely unscripted improv comedy theater.
This event is one of the first seven tour stops. A culminating performance will take place later in 2024, sharing stories from around the state. Visit host partner and/or venue site for details and registration specific to this event.
The work of the Minnesota Humanities Center is to create a stronger Minnesota by increasing our understanding of the beauty, wisdom and stories of its people. Through partnerships, we facilitate the spaces, like Sketches of Minnesota, that seek to build connections and deepen understanding of ourselves and our communities in pursuit of a more just society.
Host Partner: McLeod for Tomorrow
Registration
This event is free but registration is required.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Onamia - American Indian Education in Minnesota 101
2024-07-23 08:00 - 2024-07-24 16:00 | Grand Casino Mille Lacs, 777 Grand Avenue, Onamia, MN, 56359, United States
In April 2019 Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan performed a ceremonial signing of Executive Order 19-24 (which came into law in 2023) with several Tribal leaders and officials. Photo by Melanie Franks
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is pleased to announce a significant training opportunity designed in collaboration with Tribal Nations and the urban American Indian community in Minnesota. This training program is specifically tailored for school district administrators, staff, school board members, and educators to enhance their understanding and engagement with Native learners and families.
The primary goal of this training is to equip K-12 educators, staff, and administrators with the knowledge and tools necessary to serve American Indian students and foster positive relationships effectively. Participants will gain insights that they can apply directly in their teaching practices and community interactions.
This training has been developed in partnership with MDE, University of Minnesota Duluth – Tribal Sovereignty Institute, the Minnesota Department of Transportation – Tribal State Relations Training, and the Minnesota Humanities Center.
We look forward to welcoming you to this important initiative aimed at strengthening our collective commitment to Native education and community engagement.
Visit the MDE Tribal Relations Training web page to learn more and to access the two free pre-requisite online courses.
Lodging
Lodging is recommended at Grand Casino Mille Lacs (777 Grand Avenue, Onamia, MN 56359 – same location of the two-day training). Rooms are $99.00 – 109.00 per night plus taxes and fees until July 8, 2024. Call Grand Casino Mille Lacs at 800-626-5825 and mention code TDE722M for the training block (or enter the code when you register online).
District Reimbursement
District Reimbursement Application – MDE Tribal Relations Training – District Reimbursement Application (office.com)
This form must be completed if a district would like to receive the reimbursement of $500 per participant. The payments will be processed by MDE after the training.
Registration
This event is free but registration is required. Please complete the registration form for each individual attending.
K-12 educators, staff, and administrators will receive 13.5 clock hours upon completion of the training.
Registration Questions: Contact Melanie Franks — MDE Tribal Liaison at melanie.franks@state.mn.us.
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS CLOSED

Waite Park - Sketches of Minnesota
2024-07-25 17:30 - 20:00 | GREAT Theatre, 710 Sundial Drive, Waite Park, MN, 56387, United States
Join the Minnesota Humanities Center, Danger Boat Productions, and local host partners for the inaugural Sketches of Minnesota civic improv comedy tour! These free events will use laughter and comedy to celebrate Minnesota communities, promote dialogue, bridge divides, and help find ways to work constructively across differences in today’s political environment.
Beginning with a catered meal, these gatherings will invite audience members to share what makes their town great, what they think people get wrong about it, what local divisions concern them, and what future they imagine. An improv comedy troupe will listen in on the conversations, taking everything they heard from residents and bringing it to life on stage through entirely unscripted improv comedy theater.
This event is one of the first seven tour stops. A culminating performance will take place later in 2024, sharing stories from around the state. Visit host partner and/or venue site for details and registration specific to this event.
The work of the Minnesota Humanities Center is to create a stronger Minnesota by increasing our understanding of the beauty, wisdom and stories of its people. Through partnerships, we facilitate the spaces, like Sketches of Minnesota, that seek to build connections and deepen understanding of ourselves and our communities in pursuit of a more just society.
Host Partner: Paramount Center for the Arts and GREAT Theatre
Registration
This event is free but registration is required.
Register Now

Emily - Sketches of Minnesota
2024-07-26 17:30 - 20:00 | Emily City Hall, 44483 State Hwy 6, Emily, 56447, United States
Join the Minnesota Humanities Center, Danger Boat Productions, and local host partners for the inaugural Sketches of Minnesota civic improv comedy tour! These free events will use laughter and comedy to celebrate Minnesota communities, promote dialogue, bridge divides, and help find ways to work constructively across differences in today’s political environment.
Beginning with a catered meal, these gatherings will invite audience members to share what makes their town great, what they think people get wrong about it, what local divisions concern them, and what future they imagine. An improv comedy troupe will listen in on the conversations, taking everything they heard from residents and bringing it to life on stage through entirely unscripted improv comedy theater.
This event is one of the first seven tour stops. A culminating performance will take place later in 2024, sharing stories from around the state. Visit host partner and/or venue site for details and registration specific to this event.
The work of the Minnesota Humanities Center is to create a stronger Minnesota by increasing our understanding of the beauty, wisdom and stories of its people. Through partnerships, we facilitate the spaces, like Sketches of Minnesota, that seek to build connections and deepen understanding of ourselves and our communities in pursuit of a more just society.
Host Partner: GoNorth MN
Registration
This event is free but registration is required.
Register Now

St. Paul – Headscarf Story Circle Gathering – The Nibi Walk
2024-07-28 13:00 - 16:30 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
The Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) is excited to host Headscarf Story Circle – a series of offerings that recognizes the strength and resiliency of women. Join us as we gather together through the shared connection of the headscarf and its complexity. Guests are encouraged to wear a headscarf or head dress that is symbolic of anything from a fashion statement, cultural identity, health related, or memories, and beliefs.
The July 28 Headscarf Story Circle Gathering will feature the Nibi Walk and its healing connectedness to women. Join us for this remarkable immersive experience guided by Sharon Day, leader of Nibi Walks and Executive Director of the Indigenous People’s Task Force. This special Nibi Walk has been tailored to include a short physical walk from the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) over to Lake Phalen where the water ritual will take place and then participants will return to MHC for reflections. Please dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. The walk from MHC to Lake Phalen will be 5-8 minutes. To prepare and understand with greater respect, please visit the Nibi Walk website.
To learn more about Headscarf Story Circle, watch our program video.

Registration
There is no cost to attend this event, but registration is required.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now
