Weaving Community: Indigenous Women and Leadership in the Twin Cities

A compelling history of the often overlooked work of contemporary Native American women who took action to strengthen the bonds within and among their urban communities.

From the 1960s through the 1990s in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Native women activists helped build institutions that sustain urban Indigenous communities to this day. Weaving Community pays tribute to figures such as Vernell Wabasha, Winifred Jourdain, Bonnie Wallace, and Laura Waterman Wittstock, leaders in addressing the needs of Native people living in the metropolitan area. Thanks to their combined efforts, the Twin Cities gave rise to noteworthy organizations including the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, the first off-reservation health care center for Indigenous people; MIGIZI, a nonprofit that supports the educational, economic, and cultural needs of Indigenous youth; and Project STAIRS, which addressed the mistreatment of Native students in public schools and laid the foundation for the University of Minnesota's American Indian Studies program.

Drawing on oral histories and individual interviews, Audrey Thayer and Colette Hyman share powerful testimonies of urban Native community building. The two dozen Dakota, Anishinaabe, and Ho-Chunk women who tell their stories in Weaving Community display the cultural values of strong female leadership as well as the vital importance of preserving traditions, ceremonies, and languages. At a crucial moment in history, these women persevered so that Indigenous people in the Twin Cities could lead lives of dignity and cultural integrity.

Colette A. Hyman is professor emerita at Winona State University, where she taught history and women's studies. She is the author of Dakota Women's Work: Creativity, Culture, and Exile. She lives in Winona, Minnesota.