Congratulations to Anderson School art teacher Heather Alfred who just received funding from Minneapolis Public Schools to replicate Healing Minnesota Stories (HMS) student art project. The project’s goal is to teach students about the subtle and not-so-subtle cultural and historical messages in public art, particularly art in the Minnesota State Capitol. Students then are challenged to create their own Capitol art, and create artist statements about what the art means to them.
The grant will allow the school to buy good art and framing supplies and hold a public art exhibit at the end of the project. The funding also will support guest speakers. The money comes from the district’s “Achievement and Integration Award,” which aims to close the achievement gap, enhance the educational experience for students at racially identifiable schools; and create opportunities for increased interracial interaction.
Anderson will be the fourth school to participate. The other three schools — North View Junior High (Brooklyn Park), Northwoods Community School (Cook) and Oshki Ogimaag (Grand Portage) — have all also participated in HMS’s traveling art exhibit. We hope to add new art from Anderson soon.
Way to go, Heather!
Red Lake, Enbridge Settle Long-Standing Land Dispute
From the “Better Late Than Never” Department, MPR reported last week that Enbridge will pay Red Lake for 65 years of unauthorized use of tribal land.
After a nearly decade-long dispute, Enbridge will pay Red Lake Nation $18.5 million for less than half an acre of land.
Starting in 1950, Lakehead Pipeline, which is now owned by Enbridge, laid four oil pipelines through a small isolated section of Red Lake land. The tribe never gave the company permission, and was never paid for their use of the land.
Click on the link above for the full story.
This Day in History: Turning the Tide on Tribal Termination
Forty years ago, January 4, 1975, the Indian Self Determination and Education Act of 1975 was signed into law. This represented a major shift in federal policy, according to Wikipedia. It put a priority on Indian self determination and ended decades-long federal efforts to terminate tribes and erase treaty relationships and obligations.
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