We Move and We Stay

Minnesota’s oldest communities are still here, and their stories matter.

In We Move and We Stay, every object — old or new, simple or elaborate — evokes an artist, a purpose, and a story.

The objects on display in this exhibition tell of generations of Dakota and Ojibwe people who made their home in the place now called Minnesota. They tell of traditions old and new. They tell of change and persistence. They tell of moving and staying.

In this exhibition, you’ll find intricately beaded moccasins, colorful cradleboards, wooden canoes, and handmade star quilts among other Indigenous-created art pieces. Many of the objects on display are considered more than just objects: They are community members and hold multigenerational stories and deep cultural meaning.

Grow more connected to the land we all share and its oldest continuous caretakers. As you experience We Move and We Stay, hear the soft songs of courtship flutes, envision what Minnesota’s plains looked like before bison were almost hunted to extinction, and explore the Indigenous worldview through firsthand storytelling. 

Exhibit Highlights

• Jingle dresses started to appear in Ojibwe communities in the early 1900s. Today, women wear jingle dresses at powwows all across North America. The dresses and the dances have changed as dancers blend tradition with new materials and influences.

• Dakota: Ehaƞna Ṭaṭaƞka Ojibwe: Gete-mashkode-bizhiki: As these massive mammals graze, they create new habitat, disperse seeds, and make depressions that hold rainwater and improve biodiversity. Uncover their long history and ties to Indigenous people on the plains alongside a real Bison occidentalis skeleton.