Photo Gallery
Power of Your Story: Celebration of Shane McSauby (61 Photos)
The Kutsche Office and the Gi-gikinomaage-min Project celebrated Shane McSauby, a 2015 GVSU Alumni and a Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians citizen for becoming one of two 2016 Sundance Native Filmmakers Fellow within Indian Country. Shane discussed his story as well as his future production: Mino-Bimaadiziwin, a film funded through his Sundance grant.
Walking Beyond Our Ancestors' Footsteps (17 Photos)
This exhibition invites visitors to step into the gaze of a few of the Native Americans who have lived, worked and studied in the greater Grand Rapids area over the mid-20th and 21st centuries and features contemporary artwork by local Native American artists. The show contains historic documents and objects made by local Native Americans during the past several decades.
This exhibit is part of the work completed in conjunction with the “Gi-gikinomaage-min (We are all teachers): Defend Our History, Unlock Your Spirit” project, which is managed by the Kutsche Office of Local History at Grand Valley State University. That project has been supported in part by the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. To learn more, visit https://www.gvsu.edu/kutsche/gi-gikinomaage-min-we-are-all-teachers-10.htm.
Photo Credit: Bri Luginbill of Adam Bird Photography
GRPM Native American Exhibit and Oral History Celebration (48 Photos)
The Gi-gikinomaage-min ("We are all teachers"): Defend Our History, Unlock Your Spirit Project is dedicated to documenting the urban Native American experience in Grand Rapids. On Tuesday, May 17, 2016, community and project team members gathered in the Grand Rapids Public Museum for guided tours of the Museum's Native American exhibits, a reception, and oral history celebration. This effort is a collaboration among GVSU's Kutsche Office of Local History, Native American Advisory Board, Office of Multicultural Affairs, GVSU Libraries' Special Collections & University Archives, the Grand Rapids Public Museum, and the Grand Rapids Public Library. It is supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Photo Credit: Kristina Bird, Adam Bird Photography
GVSU Exhibit Opening: "Walking Beyond Our Ancestors' Footsteps: An Urban Native American Experience" (84 Photos)
The "Walking Beyond Our Ancestors' Footsteps: An Urban Native American Experience" exhibit opened for the first time on GVSU's Allendale Campus, Tuesday, November 3, 2015. This exhibition invites visitors to step into the gaze of a few of the Native Americans who have lived, worked, and studied in the greater Grand Rapids area over the mid-20th and 21st centuries and features contemporary artwork by local Native American artists.
These photos were taken at the opening reception that was held that evening in the Mary Idema Pew Library's Multipurpose Room. The event featured a blessing by George Martin, Ojibwe elder, and talk by featured speaker, Shannon Martin, Director of the Ziibiwing Center for Anishinaabe Culture & Lifeways. The exhibition will remain on display in the Mary Idema Pew Library's Exhibition Hall through November 21. After that time, it will travel to the Grand Rapids Public Library (January 4-22, 2016) and the Grand Rapids Public Museum (dates TBD).
“Walking Beyond Our Ancestors’ Footsteps” grows out of the planning stage of the Gi-gikinomaage-min (We are all teachers): Defend Our History, Unlock Your Spirit project, which was launched in August 2014, as a collaboration among GVSU's Kutsche Office of Local History in the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Native American Advisory Board, Office of Multicultural Affairs, GVSU Libraries' Special Collections & University Archives, the Grand Rapids Public Library, and the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The ultimate goal of this multi-year effort is to interview American Indian elders to collect their experiences about living in Grand Rapids during the federal relocation period. This effort was supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Photo Credits: Bri Luginbill of Adam Bird Photography
Campus Dialogue 2015: GVSU and the Urban Native American Experience (23 Photos)
The "Walking Beyond Our Ancestors' Footsteps: An Urban Native American Experience" exhibition concluded its run at GVSU on November 18, 2015 with a campus dialogue focusing on GVSU's role in shaping the 20th and 21st century experiences of Native Americans in and around Grand Rapids. This event was a part of the 2015 Native American Heritage Month celebrations and the Gi-gikinomaage-min Project. It was held in the Multipurpose Room of the Mary Idema Pew Library on GVSU's Allendale campus.
American Indian Community Dialogue (2015) (34 Photos)
On Tuesday, November 17, 2015, the Gi-gikinomaage-min (We are all teachers): Defend Our History, Unlock Your Spirit Project team held its second annual American Indian Community Dialogue. As last fall, this meeting was held at the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Pottawatomi Northern Health Center in downtown Grand Rapids. The meeting gave the project team an opportunity to report back to the community about the work they have been carrying out over the past year. Community members provided suggestions to guide the project's work through 2016.
Photo Credit: Bri Luginbill of Adam Bird Photography
Campus Dialogue 2014: GVSU and the Urban Native American Experience (10 Photos)
The first Campus Dialogue to introduce the "Gi-gikinomaage-min: Defend Our History, Unlock Your Spirit" project was held on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 from 6-8 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Mary Idema Pew Library on GVSU's Allendale Campus. Organized by the GVSU Kutsche Office of Local History, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Native American Advisory Board, GVSU Special Collections and Archives, and the Native American Student Association, this event was part of the university's Native American Heritage Month Celebration. Roughly 50 students, faculty, and staff attended the session, sharing their own experiences, asking questions, and making suggestions about the future direction of the project. The project is supported in part by funding from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Photo Credits: Bri Luginbill of Adam Bird Photography
American Indian Community Forum (75 Photos)
Held at the Nottawaseppi Northern Health Center, 311 State Street SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday, November 13, 2014, the "American Indian Community Forum" was the first public event held as part of the planning stage of the "Gi-gikinomaage-min: Defend Our History, Unlock Your Spirit" project. That project is a collaboration among several units at GVSU including the Kutsche Office of Local History, Native American Advisory Board, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and GVSU Special Collections and Archives. The program is funded in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The goal of this project is to document the experience of American Indian elders who lived in Grand Rapids during the relocation period.
Photo Credits: Bri Luginbill of Adam Bird Photography
