Long before Minnesota became a state, the Dakota and Anishinaabe people were living in harmony with the world around them. This is also a culturally important place for the Ho-Chunk, Cheyenne, Oto, Iowa, and the Sac and Fox Tribes. When Europeans arrived, these communities faced horrifically oppressive policies and conditions, including displacement, dispossession, and disenfranchisement.

The enduring legacy of American colonialism can still be felt in Tribal communities, which face ongoing discrimination, notable health inequities, and high rates of poverty, addiction, and suicide. Minnesota’s complicated, challenging history with its original peoples is well-documented through cultural institutions such as Hoċokata Ṫi and the Minnesota Historical Society.

Place-based learning is a wonderful way to engage with history while also communing with nature — an important practice according to an Indigenous worldview. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Dakota Sacred Hoop Walk, for instance, is an augmented reality exhibition made by Spirit Lake Dakota artist Marlena Myles that combines digital imagery and audio to educate guests about Dakota culture

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Humanities Center periodically hosts immersive Learning from Place: Bdote experiences that offer participants a deeper understanding of places like Fort Snelling State Park, Indian Mounds Regional Park, and Oheyawahi/Pilot Knob.

While you’re out walking the walk, why not also talk the talk — quite literally? Language is a beautiful and crucial component of culture not only in foreign countries but also for sovereign Tribal nations right here in the United States. Learning any language takes work, but Minnesota-based resources like the Culture Language Arts Network and the Ojibwe Rosetta Stone Project can help.

There are also more casual ways to embrace Indigenous languages, including playing Nashke Native Games, downloading the Dakhóta iápi Okhódakičhiye language app, or watching Ojibwe author/educator Anton Treuer’s captivating videos.

Speaking of notable places, Minnesota is dotted with several Indigenous areas worth exploring, including Grand Portage National Monument, Jeffers Petroglyphs, Pipestone National Monument, Mankato’s Reconciliation Park, and the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post. While they all add to the cultural context and richness of our state, each holds space for a unique and important story — a reminder that Native cultures (and experiences) are not a monolith.

The Twin Cities boasts a thriving Native scene, as exemplified by Minneapolis’s Franklin Avenue East District. Spanning several blocks, the area earned its moniker thanks to its plentiful Indigenous-created public art and Native-led businesses and organizations, including All My Relations Arts Gallery, Pow Wow Grounds coffee shop, and the recently renovated Minneapolis American Indian Center (MAIC). All are welcome in these places, though MAIC does have some exclusive programming intended to support the local Indigenous community.

Much to foodies’ delight, Minnesota has some of the top Indigenous-led restaurants in the country. Just ask the James Beard Foundation, which named Owamni America's best new restaurant in 2022. Acclaimed Oglala Lakota chef Sean Sherman is also at the helm of the Indigenous Food Lab Market housed within the Midtown Global Market. At both establishments, Sherman serves up food made without Eurocentric ingredients (beef, pork, chicken, dairy, wheat flour, cane sugar, and the like) and instead features foods produced by Indigenous purveyors, such as tea from Duluth’s own Anahata Herbals.  

Plus, there’s plenty to savor from Trickster Tacos food truck, Makwa Coffee, and Gatherings Cafe at MAIC. Local foods like walleye, wild rice, maple syrup, wild berries, morel mushrooms, fiddleheads, and more feature prominently on menus, which offer innovative takes on traditional dishes. Home cooks can also buy these ingredients to make nutritious, delicious meals in their own kitchen. 

Why not make that dinner and a show? From performing arts to visual arts, there’s no shortage of evocative Indigenous entertainment hitting Minnesota stages and galleries. Native storytellers statewide offer honest, authentic depictions of Tribal communities and issues at inclusive places like All My Relations, New Native Theatre, Two Rivers Gallery, the Tweed Museum of Art, and major institutions like the Guthrie Theater and Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Minnesota also enjoys major bragging rights about its many renowned Indigenous authors, including Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), the matriarch behind popular Birchbark Books in Minneapolis. She’s in good company alongside the likes of Tashia Hart (Red Lake Nation), Mona Susan Power (Standing Rock Sioux), Marcie Rendon (White Earth Nation), Anton and David Treuer (Leech Lake Ojibwe), and other rising stars who are showcasing the depth and richness of Indigenous life through the power of the pen.

Although some private events are reserved for their respective Tribal nations, Indigenous celebrations are often open to the public. Knowledge keepers are eager to share about their Tribe’s unique cultural practices at powwows, festivals, and other happenings. Many events tend to take place around Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October and  American Indian Month in May, but there are year-round festivities to partake in. 

Word to the wise: Many event organizers offer etiquette tips online to ensure visitors conduct themselves in a way that appreciates but doesn’t appropriate or disrespects longstanding traditions. When in doubt, ask for permission rather than forgiveness.

Humor is medicine for Indigenous peoples — medicine that’s meant to be shared. Jokes often touch on traumatic parts of Native life, but just like any other comedy, it’s meant to bring levity and understanding. 

We’ve got a pretty funny bunch here in Minnesota, including the likes of Trish Cook (Red Lake Nation), Rob “Rez Reporter” Fairbanks (Leech Lake Ojibwe), and Dallas Goldtooth (Bdewakantunwan Dakota/Dińe) of the 1491s and "Reservation Dogs" fame. There are also frequent opportunities to laugh along with touring stand-up comedians such as Tatanka Means (Navajo/Omaha/Oglala Lakota) at area casinos and event venues. (And yes, non-Native individuals are allowed — and encouraged — to revel in Native-focused humor.)

If you want to make a meaningful impact, supporting Native artisans and entrepreneurs is a real way to uplift Tribal nations, which continue to experience economic hardships and marked inequities. Do some good while shopping at popular local places like Birchbark Books, the Indigenous Food Lab Market, Indigenous First, Northland Visions, and Woodland Crafts Gift Shop. Most of which offer online shopping, too. 

Time, money, energy, platform — all of these resources amplify the efforts of Native-led nonprofits, which receive just 0.4 percent of philanthropic dollars from large U.S. foundations, per recent Candid research. That statistic alone should be incentive enough, but equally motivating is the joy that comes with altruistic action supporting marginalized groups. It’s important to ensure that the organization or initiative you’re championing is indeed Indigenous-led and Indigenous-serving, though. 

Thankfully, Minnesota is home to plenty of Native-oriented nonprofits with specific focus areas, from food sovereignty (Dream of Wild Health) to housing insecurity (AICHO) to youth cultural development (MIGIZI), to highlight just a few. You can start by finding a cause that resonates with you, taking time to learn about your local community's most pressing needs, or searching the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. 

Read about many of the different cultures that call Minnesota home.