A recently discovered box of photographs has led to the creation of a new exhibit at the Minnesota History Center.
The decades-old box, simply labeled “Indians,” was filled with photos of Native people in Minnesota, taken by local journalists and photographers from the 1950s to the 1990s. And while the images captured gave off a seemingly nonchalant, lighthearted energy, the captions that came with them created another picture–a much more prejudiced one.
“Lots of stereotypes and negative imagery was painted with the words, but the images themselves were not. So what we decided to do was tell a different story than what was being portrayed in the newspaper,” said Jacob Bernier, program and outreach specialist with the Native American Initiatives Department at the Minnesota Historical Society. Bernier is of Red River Métis and French descent.
This motivation to tell the stories behind what the photograph’s convey in a fresher, more objective lens inspired the name of the exhibit, Reframing Our Stories. The exhibit is an extension of the existing History Center exhibit Our Home: Native Minnesota. The photos from the uncovered collection were enlarged and displayed across the exhibit’s walls, with both the original and “reframed” captions illustrated alongside it.
One photo taken in 1963, for instance, depicts a young Native dancer wearing traditional dance regalia as well as Chuck Taylor sneakers, getting his face washed by his grandmother before heading back to the dance circle. The image seemingly documents an intimate, authentic moment between the two family members, but the block of text accompanying the photo says otherwise.
“A young Brave got a good scrubbing from his grandmother before he left the camping area to participate in a dance session,” the original caption stated. “His headdress, shirt and pants were much more authentic than his shoes.”
The newly adapted caption promptly dispels this notion, expressing that each Native person defines their own authenticities in their identities, whether they’re wearing high-tops or moccasins with their dance regalia.
“I think the photos [challenge misconceptions] a lot,” Bernier said. “Looking around, you’ll see folks in regalia, but you’ll also see folks in their regular 9-to-5 clothes. That doesn’t give somebody else the right to say if they’re Native or not.”
In the center of the exhibition room stands a low-lying circular wooden table, with several chairs surrounding it, for people to gather around and share their own stories and experiences in the Native community. The circular shape of the table represents equity, and a motif that the Native peoples’ story is never ending and constant, according to Bernier.
“Native people are still here. We haven’t left. The Twin Cities has the second largest Native community in the country, and it’s more than just Dakota, Ojibwe, and Ho-Chunk people. That’s something we really wanted to be able to highlight and showcase,” Bernier said.
The Reframing Our Stories exhibit is now open, and will be on display until October of 2025. Entry to the event is included with museum admission. For more information about the exhibit, visit mnhs.org.