About

Our Mission

Our mission is to spotlight and make visible the lives and contributions of Native American peoples and their governments in Minnesota today because we are still here. We will do this by challenging and correcting false narratives, replacing fiction with facts and finding solutions for issues impacting the Native American community. WASH Minnesota Working Group objectives are to: create visibility and connectivity for this work in Minnesota; formulate strategies to connect everyone within the State; advise and make recommendations on how to create a sustainable project that will allow WASH Minnesota to push initiatives forward that will lead to tangible change

Our Work

The ground-breaking Reclaiming Native Truth (RNT) public opinion research released in 2018 shows that the invisibility and inaccurate representations of Native peoples in media, popular culture, K-12 curricula, policy and practice, and philanthropy creates damaging misperceptions and stereotypes leading to bias, discrimination and structural racism towards Native peoples.

The RNT research also points to new strategies; levers for change; momentum within Indian Country and with allies; and significant interest among diverse sectors of the American public to access new, contemporary representations, and voices of Native peoples as a means to overcome invisibility and toxic, existing narratives.

As a result of this research, there was a call to action, to use this research data to change the narrative. Minnesota responded to the call with We Are Still Here Minnesota.

The Working Groups

THE WORKING GROUPS: Answering the call to action,  We will focus on  K-12 Education, Governance & Policy, Culture & Media and Philanthropy to revitalize Native American lives and strengthen our Sovereignty. By networking with Native Americans in all communities and areas of expertise, we will embrace the true narrative, revitalize our original instructions for living, and honor our rich history in Minnesota. We can reclaim, rebuild and breathe life into a vibrant future in Minnesota and beyond. The larger community will know we are still here.

Beginning with a convening at Mystic Lake Event Center October 2019, WASHMN gathered thought leaders in the Native American Community as well as allies in (4) areas. K-12 Education, Governance and Policy,  Media/ Pop Culture and Philanthropy to dive deep into The Reclaiming Native Truth (RNT) data, an unprecedented research campaign designed to increase our understanding of the dominant narrative about Native peoples in the United States. The purpose: to become visible, change the false narratives and reassert self-determination as a responsibility of native peoples, not a right. The term itself “Reclaiming Native Truth “lays a powerful foundation for the project’s research as it renames and reframes colonized terminology in a positive construct. 

The combined efforts of these four groups working together and sharing information and resources, creates a new framework or bridge to interrupt systemic barriers. Now we have a full understanding of how best to meet our future goals. Now we have expert voices of our own people making decisions about the seven generations so the people can live.

 

 

Steering Committee

Ramona Kitto Stately

K-12 Education

Wayne Ducheneaux II

Governance & Policy

Marlena Myles

Pop Culture & Media

Sarah Hernandez

Philanthropy