Location: North Dakota

In early November 2023, North Dakota Council on the Arts welcomed Arts Midwest and fellow Midwest state arts agencies to Bismarck for an engaging summit on our partnership and shared commitment to the region.

The intention is to bring awareness about the atrocities of the federal Indian boarding schools and to start the healing journey for survivors, their descendants, and extended families. 

Colors, traditions, and prayers are all pieced into Benson’s star quilts. Her craft has been encouraged by the women in her family.

Standing Rock hosted Sir Timoti Kāretu, a highly regarded Indigenous language warrior, on his farewell tour and brought people together to connect on the significance of language revitalization.

The Sacred Pipe Resource Center, a Native community center in Mandan, North Dakota, empowers Native artists to become catalysts for change to help heal their communities.

From a 138-year-old historic church to a vacant tube manufacturing building, these projects across the Midwest are staking out space for creativity to shine.

Midwestern organizations Sacred Pipe Resource Center, For the Love of the Arts, and La Luz Centro Cultural are taking part in the second round of Arts Midwest’s community-based artist-in-residency program.

An act of preservation in 1911 made way for this living project that reclaims Lakota culture, knowledge and religious freedom.

A space is truly of the community when it is shaped by the needs of the people it serves. The Sitting Bull Visitor Center in Fort Yates, North Dakota, the tribal headquarters of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, is recognizing and addressing its community’s need for holistic education around food sovereignty through their proposed Open Kitchen. This initiative complements their rich portfolio of offerings related to Indigenous knowledge and tradition.

With the inaugural 4Ground Midwest Land Art Biennial, Franconia Sculpture Park is reaching its arms beyond its own grounds for a multi-state, multi-organization festival that focuses on community, land stewardship, sustainability, and preservation.