Mino Gizhigad: A Good Day in Fond du Lac and Cloquet

August 28, 2024 by Blandin Foundation Posted in Grants, Rural Placemaking

It was a verdant, overcast July day along the shores of Chigami-Ziibiing, the St. Louis River, when community members gathered at the Dunlap Island Park Shelter in Cloquet for a special celebration. After two years of collaborative work, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the City of Cloquet unveiled new riverfront signage reflecting the deep-rooted history and traditions of the land.

“These bilingual interpretive signs showcase a rich tapestry of cultural heritage and historical significance,” explained Holly Hansen, Community Development Director with the City of Cloquet.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony included an honor song and pipe invocation ceremony before remarks from several of the many partners involved in its success.

About the Project

In 2022, project leaders leveraged a grant opportunity from Blandin Foundation to address the fact that for too long the whole history of the Cloquet area hadn’t been told. Too often the stories of settlers to the area would be upheld without including the centuries of Native life and land stewardship that came before them and endures today.

“The grant opportunity allows the collective chance to think big, to acknowledge we haven’t told our collective cultural story,” Hansen explained. “The City of Cloquet sought to embark upon a cultural planning effort, to identify and capture the cultural and historical stories unique to Cloquet, and to integrate that with the local history of our adjacent Fond du Lac Reservations’ Ojibwa culture, creating an interpretive experience for residents and visitors.”

In the two years leading up to the signage unveiling, an advisory panel assembled, an external community engagement facilitator was hired from 106 Group and Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design, meetings and interviews were conducted, narratives were compiled, an artist was hired, and more. In the end, project organizers hope the new signage generates an increase in local pride, in awareness of Obijwa culture and Cloquet settler history, and in a strong sense of place.

“These signs show everyone who visits – local folks and out-of-town guests – the creativity, resourcefulness and can-do attitude that rural places like Fond du Lac and Cloquet have in spades,” remarked Mary Magnusson, Rural Placemaking Grants Program Officer at Blandin Foundation. “Yet there is more to these signs. I see a community ready, willing and able to change. To not just name that some community history was missing from this place, but to work, together, to bridge that cultural gap. And in the process, strengthen relationships that build up the Cloquet and Fond du Lac area’s pride in place and people”

The People and Organizations Behind the Project

Project Consultant Team

• 106 Group – Heather Hoglund, Alyssa Rupp, and Scot Nortrom
• Full Circle Planning – Regine Kennedy and Sam Olbekson

Cloquet Riverfront Cultural Signage Advisory Panel

• Alex DuFault, FDL Cultural Resource Management Assistant
• Holly Hansen, Community Development Director – City of Cloquet
• Giizh aka Sarah Agaton Howes, Heart Berry Business Owner and Artist
• Naawakwe aka William Howes III, FDL Language & Culture Program Manager
• Lyz Jaakola, Cloquet City Councilor
• Carol Klitzke, Director Carlton County Historical Society
• Mary Lukkarila, Retired Cloquet Library Director
• Jerry Manthey, Cloquet Historian
• Tim Peterson, City Administrator –City of Cloquet
• Jeff Savage, Director of Fond Du Lac Museum
• Evan Schroeder, FDL Tribal Historic Preservation Officer

Special Thanks to:

• City of Cloquet Street Department staff and Supervisor Pete Hughes for installing the signage and concrete pads, along with facility set up.
• Naawakwe aka William Howes and staff at the FDL Language & Culture Program for interpretive assistance with this project.
• Giizh aka Sarah Howes, owner of Heart Berry and consultant artist for this project.
• Baadwewidaan aka Caleb Dunlap, FDL Communications Director.
• Pete Johnson, City Engineering Technician for assistance creating signage brochures.
• Jake Kachinske of WKLK for equipment set-up.
• Blandin Foundation, the project funder.

About the Grant Opportunity

The Blandin Foundation funding came through a Rural Leadership Boost Grant opportunity, created to support local vision and ignite the dreamers and doers ready for growth. Starting as a back-of-the-napkin idea to help rural communities emerge from the stressors of the pandemic, this responsive grant opportunity challenged Blandin Foundation’s systems and ways of thinking about making grants. More than 300 Letters of Interest were submitted for funding, far more than anticipated. Three grant rounds were opened based on the type of requests received: Community Planning, Capital Projects in small towns under 3,000 people, and Creative Placemaking.

This Cultural Riverfront Signage project is an example of creative placemaking: bolstering the arts, culture, natural resources, creativity and opportunities to come together and help us feel connected, invested and proud of where we live. The City of Cloquet was awarded $50,000 for this project, one of 90 grants awarded by the Blandin Foundation in that round of boost grants, a more than $5.5 million investment in rural Minnesota.

“This project and the good way it came into being can lead to a new direction. Toward not just change, but transformation. For me, the difference between change and transformation is belief,” Magnuson said. “Transformation also takes action. Cloquet and all our boost grant recipients took bold steps to build success and to collaborate across the systems that support our families and communities. In this project, the resilience and fortitude of rural places and people shines through, building communities that advocate for people not always heard, and where respect, harmony and integrity flourish.”

About Blandin Foundation Grantmaking

The Blandin Foundation has updated its 30-year grant-making approach to more closely align with Charles Blandin’s original vision, helping address urgent rural challenges and prepare for the future. Mr. Blandin’s legacy emphasized resilience, self-reliance, and sustainable growth. The Foundation is steering its grant-making to mirror his vision more closely by focusing on new priority areas, building capacity for success and fostering collaborations.

Our future grantmaking will look different but our commitment to strengthening our home community and rural Minnesota is stronger than ever. Learn more: https://blandinfoundation.org/programs/grants/