Why Treaties Matter 

About

Join us at the History Center for the opening of our latest limited engagement exhibit, Why Treaties Matter. There will be kids activities, refreshments and a chance to be one of the first to see this great exhibit!

In August 2010, a resolution creating a unique partnership of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. was approved unanimously by the tribes residing in Minnesota and made it possible for the exhibition to be developed as an educational tool for Minnesota audiences.

The exhibition will include 20 free standing banners with evocative text, historical and contemporary photographs and maps, and a 10-minute video titled, "A Day in the Life of the Minnesota Tribal Nations."

This exhibit reveals how Dakota and Ojibwe treaties with the U.S. government affected the lands and lifeways of the Indigenous peoples of the place we now call Minnesota, and explains why these binding agreements between nations still matter today. It is meant to share important cultural information with all Minnesotans, that they may better understand the true circumstances surrounding Minnesota land, its use, and even the treatment of the land's Indigenous peoples today.