“There’s a real need for the history of Akiing, or northern Minnesota to be told and shared from an Indigenous perspective”

— Renee Gurneau, Board Chair

Giiwedinong, the Anishinaabe Museum of Treaties and Culture is beginning to take form in downtown Park Rapids, MN.

This week, artist Brian Dow tribal member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (Miskwaagamiiwi-Zaagaiganing) began mural and ribbon trim paintings on the former Carnegie Library and Enbridge office. Dow, a well known painter, graphic artist and clothing designer will work with traditional Anishinaabe beadwork designs. Dow with Mary Crystal Goggleye led a group of youth in creating a Water Protector mural by Isaac Murdoch on the building’s western wall.

The Giiwedinong Museum began as a project funded by Honor the Earth and Akiing, an Anishinaabe Community Development organization.

In October of 2022, Akiing purchased the Carnegie building and has been undertaking essential renovations to prepare for the exhibits. The museum plans to open in October 2023, two-years after Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline went into operation. The Museum will feature a prominent Water Protector exhibit, including photos, stories and narratives from the Water Protector movement in both northern Minnesota and Standing Rock.

“We want to share our history, and honor water protectors in this work. Many people who want to learn about citizen engagement, regulatory processes , treaty rights, and history of Minnesota will be pleased to come to our museum,” Winona LaDuke who is coordinating the project for Akiing explained.

Renee Gurneau, Board Chair of the newly formed Giiwedinong Museum, from Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (Miskwaagamiiwi-Zaagaiganing), and is helping guide the cultural knowledge of the museum in development.

“There’s a real need for the history of Akiing, or northern Minnesota to be told and shared from an Indigenous perspective, “ Gurneau said.

Frank Bibeau, Executive Director of Akiing is pleased with the progress of the museum project, “We have a group of hard working people bringing together history, culture, treaty and constitutional rights, and that story will begin a new public narrative in northern Minnesota.”

Museum Exhibit Curator Frank Smoot, presently working with Giiwedinong on loan from the Chippewa Valley Historical Museum, with a multitude of national museum projects, including the Coos History Museum, in Coos Bay Oregon. Smoot is joined by project advisor Lydia Four Horns, both of whom are guiding Akiing staff and community members in developing the exhibits. “We are going to tell the first chapter of a book” Smoot said. “Museums should change and grow, and this is the first set of exhibits, the first chapter”.

The Giiwedinong Museum, funded entirely on private contributions and represents the first independent Indigenous Museum in Minnesota. Giiwedinong plans to develop a supporting membership base, and will also seek funds from state agencies and foundations to support the exhibits and staffing.

“We take the responsibility of telling our stories for the public very seriously,” LaDuke said. “We will do our best to begin telling those stories.” Giiwedinong hopes to hire additional staff this fall, and secure ongoing funding.

During the Giiwedinong’s building dressing Brian Dow said while working at the museum this past week in Park Rapids. (Facebook Live video above)

“This week we are going to begin dressing our building,” Dow said. “We are going to add a lot to Park Rapids in terms of public art, culture and a story.”