We Are Still Here is a multiyear initiative with the aim to uplift Native voices and stories in Minneapolis. This collaborative partnership between the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI) and Hennepin Theatre Trust will bring large-scale, high profile public artwork created by an emerging network of Native artists to both the Hennepin Theatre District and the American Indian Cultural Corridor highlighting contemporary Native culture and dispelling stereotypes. The initiative will also establish a sustainable framework for ongoing engagement among the Trust and other downtown Minneapolis stakeholders.

A learning cohort of three Indigenous artists will work with project mentor Jonathan Thunder over 18 to 24 months to create digital designs, animation, a possible mural and more. We Are Still Here will promote native storytelling for the built environment along Hennepin Avenue. Through pilots, prototypes and a final project that will be a central feature for the reopening of Hennepin Avenue after a four-year reconstruction project culminating with the Hennepin Theatre District centennial celebration in 2022.

“As a culture-bearer, working in contemporary media, Jonathan is the ideal mentor for this group as he brings a wide range of skills from large scale painting to digital animation and installations,” said Angela Two Stars, All My Relations Arts Director. Thunder, Red Lake Ojibwe, is a multi-disciplinary artist known for the surreal imagery he uses to address the subjects of loss and recovery of indigenous sovereignty, environmental welfare and humorous social commentary through his paintings, animated and experimental films, installations and illustration work.

Engaging with native artists and community has been the mission of NACDI since its founding in 2007 and the early creation of the “American Indian Community Blueprint” in 2010. Angela Two Stars, NACDI’s All My Relations Arts director shares, “by interweaving contemporary and traditional storytelling, and the allyship of Indigenous communities here in the Twin Cities, we are able to connect the Dakota history of the land and continued connections to our past using the powerful visuals of our contemporary artists.” NACDI’s long-standing commitment to public engagement has enabled them to be a source of leadership and guidance among its network of Native artists and community.

In the Hennepin Theatre District, the Trust transforms the spaces along Hennepin Avenue to create a more vibrant and inclusive environment through its public art projects and programming. “We are looking forward to collaborating with NACDi to broaden the awareness of Native truth-telling and working together to create a system enabling continued public art and placemaking efforts,” said Mark Nerenhausen, president and CEO for the Trust. Nerenhausen said that We Are Still Here will be a catalyst to weave Native culture back into Hennepin Avenue connecting the District’s community to arts and cultural experiences in unexpected places.