Partner: Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans

Many immigrant communities have few documents or artifacts that preserve and tell their stories of arrival, settlement and adjustment to life in Minnesota. Oral history is the best way to preserve this important history and to ensure that it becomes part of Minnesota's historical record. In this project, Minnesota Historical Society staff conducted interviews with members of the Laotian, Korean, Karen, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian and Pacific Islander communities in Baudette, Warroad, Worthington, St. Cloud and Rochester, as well as in the Twin Cities. The interviews serve as resources for teachers and students and will be available on the Society's website, "Becoming Minnesotan: Stories of Recent Immigrants and Refugees" education.mnhs.org/immigration. The site features people who comment with authority on their community's composition, challenges, achievements and contribution to Minnesota's cultural landscape.

Partners: Access Philanthropy

The 500-plus historical societies and organizations throughout Minnesota have a deep passion and commitment to the work they do and the people they serve. Too often, however, these organizations lack the staff, time and skills necessary to secure ongoing financial support. Even the most experienced organizations have felt increased competition for funds in an increasingly uncertain economy. This program creates an opportunity for local history organizations to build their financial capacity through intensive training in non-profit fundraising and grant proposal preparation. By offering this training, the Minnesota Historical Society and its partners hope to increase the capacity of local historical societies and organizations throughout Minnesota to not only apply for and receive grants, but to diversify and strengthen their funding and support base. More than 200 volunteers and paid staff from small and medium-sized historical organizations have attended intensive training workshops offered in these communities: Andover, Duluth, Luverne, Mankato, St. Cloud, Willmar and Winona.

The legacy of the last original members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Minnesota is being passed on to today's young members of the Minnesota Conservation Corps (MCC) through interviews with CCC members.

Partner: The Conservation Corps of Minnesota (CCM)

The Minnesota Historical Society and the CCM are working together to keep the important legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) alive. During the summers of 2011 and 2012, young adult members of the CCM interned at the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids. They learned about the history and legacy of the CCC, conducted oral history interviews with CCC alumni, interacted with and engaged the public in historic interpretation, implemented on-the-job forest conservation practices, taught conservation to students and other Forest History Center visitors and presented tree identification, birding and GPS programs to the public. In summer 2012, the CCM crew also completed a number of maintenance projects at the Forest History Center, created an interpretive panel for the center's walking trails and a phenology program for children.

This project involves interviewing Chicano-Latino elders and community leaders from approximately a dozen Latino population centers in the state.

Partner: Chicano Latino Affairs Council

The Chicano-Latino population in Minnesota has grown dramatically since 1980. The Minnesota Historical Society is partnering with the community to ensure their stories of arrival, settlement and adjustment to life in Minnesota are recorded and preserved for future generations. Minnesota Historical Society staff have completed interviews in Moorhead, Willmar and the Twin Cities and produced a published book for each narrator, totaling more than 1,300 pages of transcripts as well as a video project "Latino Business Leaders Defining Success." The interviews also serve as resources for teachers and students and will be available on the Society's website, "Becoming Minnesotan: Stories of Recent Immigrants and Refugees" education.mnhs.org/immigration.

The Minnesota Historical Society developed a communications strategy to raise awareness of the significance of Minnesota's role in the Civil War and also the Society's educational initiatives, exhibits and programs related to the war to ensure that students, teachers and the general public would use and benefit from these initiatives.