Exploring History & Culture in Central Minnesota is an event series created by the Morrison County Historical Society in 2019 in order to partner on cultural programming with history organizations in Central Minnesota. The partnership includes the Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, and Stearns County Historical Societies.
Each year, the four organizations work with another history organization within Minnesota to bring programming to Central Minnesota that highlights a specific history and/or culture.
For more information on the series, contact the Morrison County Historical Society at 320-632-4007.
2019 Series
The 2019 Exploring History & Culture in Central Minnesota series featured the Somali Museum of Minnesota, which presented programs on Somali kebed weaving, Somali Culture 101, a Mobile Culture Show, and the Somali Museum Dance Troupe.
2020 Series
The 2020 series featured programming from The Museum of Russian Art, with exhibits of Russian nesting dolls and various performances by the Nitka Folk Performance Group and Ladya Duet.
2021 Series
The 2021 series featured programming from the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum & Gallery. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the series was held online and featured a program on the founding of the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum & Gallery, a program on how art can be used to further social justice, and a program on an effort to save and preserve the plywood murals created after the killing of George Floyd.
2021 Central Minnesota Black History Resources
The Untold Story of the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum & Gallery, a podcast by Jeff Carmack of KVSC.
A Conversation with the Cofounders of the MAAHMG: https://youtu.be/
Note: We attempted to record the third session in this series, Save the Boards to Memorialize the Movement with Leesa Kelly and Kenda Zellner-Smith, but the recording was unsuccessful.
2022 Series
The 2022 series featured programming from the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. The series was held online and featured four presentations sharing about cultures in the state through their ancient manuscript traditions.
The programs covered the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and how the order’s members continue to care for the poor and sick today; Father Oliver Kapsner, OSB (Leonard Kapsner from Buckman, Morrison County) and his leadership with the early work of HMML; an introduction to the manuscript heritage of Muslim communities in Minnesota using Islamic manuscript traditions; and Minnesota’s small but growing Coptic Egyptian community and its cultural heritage.
The Order of Saint John of Jerusalem: Culture and Community: https://youtu.be/vXiMOu-zVBY
The Boy from Buckman Plants a Seed: https://youtu.be/6tWkPHMYWVo
2023 Series
The 2023 series featured programming from The Hmong Cultural Center in St. Paul. The series was held online and featured four presentations sharing the history and culture of Hmong in Minnesota.
The programs covered Hmong Weddings and Funerals, Traditional Hmong Beliefs about Health and Medicine, Hmong Folk Art Traditions, and Hmong Milestones in Minnesota.
Hmong 101: Hmong Weddings & Funerals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8qNIx2a8wU
Hmong 101: Traditional Hmong Beliefs about Health and Medicine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXhqYUUW2Is
Hmong 101: Hmong Folk Art Traditions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVTt8AJlUyM
Hmong 101: Minnesota Milestones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=craaJekpbMY