Weaving Community: Panel Talk
Join All My Relations Arts for a panel discussion highlighting the work of Audrey Thayer and Colette A. Hyman in their latest release, Weaving Community: Indigenous Women and Leadership in the Twin Cities.
The authors will be joined in discussion by interviewees from the book, Juanita Espinosa, Sharon Day, and Antony Stately, whose compelling stories are shared within the book.
2:30-4pm. Free and open to the public. Copies of the book will be available during the event. Snacks and refreshment will be provided. All are welcome.
About the book:
Weaving Community is a compelling history of the often overlooked work of contemporary Native American women who took action to strengthen the bonds within and among their urban communities.
From the 1960s through the 1990s in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Native women activists helped build institutions that sustain urban Indigenous communities to this day. Weaving Community pays tribute to figures such as Vernell Wabasha, Winifred Jourdain, Bonnie Wallace, and Laura Waterman Wittstock, leaders in addressing the needs of Native people living in the metropolitan area. Thanks to their combined efforts, the Twin Cities gave rise to noteworthy organizations including the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, the first off-reservation health care center for Indigenous people; MIGIZI, a nonprofit that supports the educational, economic, and cultural needs of Indigenous youth; and Project STAIRS, which addressed the mistreatment of Native students in public schools and laid the foundation for the University of Minnesota’s American Indian Studies program.
Drawing on oral histories and individual interviews, Audrey Thayer and Colette Hyman share powerful testimonies of urban Native community building. The two dozen Dakota, Anishinaabe, and Ho-Chunk women who tell their stories in Weaving Community display the cultural values of strong female leadership as well as the vital importance of preserving traditions, ceremonies, and languages. At a crucial moment in history, these women persevered so that Indigenous people in the Twin Cities could lead lives of dignity and cultural integrity.
About the authors:
Audrey Thayer is an academic instructor at Leech Lake Tribal College. She lives in Bemidji, Minnesota. Colette A. Hyman is professor emerita at Winona State University, where she taught history and women’s studies. She lives in Winona, Minnesota.