5 October 2023
PARK RAPIDS, Minn. Giiwedinong, the Anishinaabeg Museum of Treaties and Culture in Park Rapids, will be celebrating its grand opening at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12.
Giiwedinong means “in the north” in the Ojibwe language.
The museum is located in the former Carnegie Library at 101 2nd St. W. that was used as an Enbridge office during the Line 3 pipeline construction project.
The museum began as a project funded by Honor the Earth and the Anishinaabeg organization Akiing that purchased the building a year ago.
Winona LaDuke is the museum’s project coordinator.
LaDuke said the grand opening will feature drumming, dancing and other activities on the museum lawn before the opening.
Viewing the upstairs of the museum will be done in groups of 20 and water protectors will be on hand to share their stories.
“It’s pretty exciting that all of these people came together to put together a museum that is a love letter to our ancestors to say we remember them and also our water protectors,” LaDuke said. “I am very grateful to have the opportunity to be part of this museum I love so much. We think Park Rapids is a vibrant town and think this museum is going to add to that.”
A tribute to water protectors
The first set of exhibits will honor water protectors through photos, stories and narratives from northern Minnesota and the Standing Rock Reservation, where people protested the Dakota Access pipeline.
“I’m very committed to protecting our water,” LaDuke said. “It has been very healing working on this project. As you may know, I had charges in four counties (from the Line 3 protests). It was only about a week and a half ago that my charges were dismissed in the interest of justice. It’s nice to not have a bunch of scary stuff hanging over your head and be able to just tell a story. It’s always about the water, because nobody in the world has as much water as we do. It’s important to recognize that. The local ecological history and present water and restoration issues are all part of it. I can see a continuing inspiration back and forth between the museum and those kinds of projects. Enbridge and Offut are of great concern to the water. We’re going to give people something to talk about. I hope that people will learn from the exhibits we have in the museum.”
Museum will tell stories
LaDuke said another focus of the museum is to share the Anishinaabeg culture through their own voices.
“This museum is not a mausoleum,” she said. “I think of this museum as a basket. Stuff is going to come in and then it will get distributed and more stuff will come in and exhibits will change. There is one gallery that is for art. As we get going, we plan to add to the museum. We have been putting the museum together from the Anishinaabeg perspective. It’s a collective group of people telling their story. I think it will be a place where Anishinaabeg people are comfortable and also people who want to understand more about the Anishinaabeg people, treaties and how we make agreements to take care of our future.”
LaDuke said people may not realize how much money it usually takes to start a museum.
“We had $100,000 from a very great woman in New York to start this museum,” she said. “There are not a lot of people, who for $100,000, can make a museum. The perception is that generally you need millions of dollars. People have a right to tell their story. Maybe those people don’t have a lot of money, but if we all work together we can tell a story. There is so much you can learn from your ancestors.”
Looking to the future
LaDuke said that as the museum grows, one goal is to bring in youth from area schools to view the exhibits.
“This first exhibit about the water protectors would be worthy for civics classes in high school,” she said. “This is just the beginning. We plan to have some sections for grade school and younger kids. We hope people will help us design some of those parts. We are seeing people stepping up to help. We want everybody’s input. Everybody can help to tell this story.”
A volunteer staff has done the majority of the work to get the museum open.
“Ross Karvonen is a veteran and local boy from Wolf Lake who lives in Nevis and has done much of the volunteer work to renovate the whole museum,” she said.
“We’re looking to get some more funds and have a liaison with the schools. It’s going to take a little time to get it fully going. We’re not able to open the downstairs of the museum yet. There is a large meeting room down there that could be a place for doing interviews and keeping resource materials in a future phase. We’re also interested in what students think and their ideas to improve the museum. We’d like to get some high school students involved in creating QR codes for exhibits in the museum and also digital content.
A gift shop at the museum will feature art, wild rice, coffee, food products, clothing, books and art.
“It will give people the chance to support Native artists,” she said.
The Giiwedinong Museum is funded entirely by private contributions, and is the first independent Indigenous museum in Minnesota.
Plans are in the works to have the museum open Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday.
For more information on the museum open house and exhibits, volunteering or scheduling school groups to visit, go to www.giiwedinong.org or contact them through their Facebook page.
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