- project leader
- Moira V
- location
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N 2nd Ave E & East Michigan Street(Downtown Duluth)
- latest update rss
- Funding deadline!
the project
NOTE: We will be starting to paint September 1! Keep an eye out for opportunties to volunteer and connect with us.
Moira Villiard is collaboratively designing an immersive series of murals that will outline the contemporary and past history of Indigenous people in Duluth, MN.
The murals will exist in a large maze of walls near the lakewalk that connect the newly renamed Gitchi Ode Akiing Park and Downtown Duluth with the lower Canal Park tourism peninsula through a series of ramps and staircases. The murals focus on the journey of Chief Buffalo, a history inaccessible through both art and public space in Duluth. The murals will also feature contemporary imagery of Native people and our existence and connection to the land today.
Villiard, in partnership with the Duluth Indigenous Commission, the Buffalo family, and Zeitgeist Center for the Arts, launched a pilot project in the Summer of 2019 to paint 3 of the 12+ walls in a single day-long event, which was preceded by a ceremony that brought over a hundred native people to the space to bless the project. As the lead artist, Villiard is recruiting other emerging Indigenous artists to assist her in designing the various walls and then we will host public events where everyone is welcome to help us fill in the designs.
"The treaty was not a grant of rights to the Indians, but a grant of rights from them -- a reservation of those not granted." US v. Winans (1905)
For more information on treaties and the story of Chief Buffalo, check out the following links:
the steps
January - April 2021:
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Meeting with the Buffalo Family and community members to coordinate plan for the walls
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Research plaques and historic marker options
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Draft designs
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Confirm assistant artists and photo references
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Meet with remaining appropriate city parties
May - June 2021:
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Awareness events in the park in collaboration with Duluth Indigenous Commission
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Research creative ways to reintroduce sweetgrass and Indigenous plant-life into the space and to include other historic markers
September 2021:
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Mural painting sessions in conjunction with park activities.
October 2021:
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Installation of plaques and any other place markers.
why we're doing it
Duluth, as an “artsy” city, has thus far failed to implement public art depicting Native people in any capacity outside of a few early non-Native artists creating inaccurate depictions of what they thought pre-1900 Ojibwe would look like. The transformation of this public space is going to change this forever.
We are currently working with the oldest descendents of Chief Buffalo (Henry Jr. and Bob, the hereditary chief) to piece together information on the Treaty of 1854, which is the reason anyone was allowed to immigrate to our region of Minnesota - it is also, in a bittersweet way, the reason that the Anishinaabe people were not pushed further West after the Ojibwe Trail of Tears (Sandy Lake Tragedy). The mural maze not only beautifies this underused public space, but will finally make visible and honest community-designed depiction of the Indigenous history in the region. It will also call attention to the potential of creative placemaking as a whole, which is a movement that is amazing but sometimes veers too much into the mentality that places need to be “made” and don’t already hold stories and cultures that have “made” them already.
budget
Updated Budget (11.4.21):
| TOTAL RAISED = | $2,960.00 |
| ioby Fiscal Sponsorship Fee (5%) | N/A |
| ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) | $72.15 |
| TOTAL TO DISBURSE= | $2,887.85 |
REVISED BUDGET 10.12.21
The project received another offline donation of $9,000
Crowdfunding efforts needed to cover the balance outlined below.
| TOTAL PROJECT FUNDING NEEDED | $10,245 |
| ioby Fiscal Sponsorship Fee (5%) | N/A |
| ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) (Donation processing fee does not apply to match funding.) |
$317 |
| TOTAL TO RAISE= | $10,562 |
| Donation processing fees apply to donations only. 100% of match funding goes to projects. Please note, fees are estimated here and final numbers may change based on the final amount raised and amount of match funding applied to this campaign. |
REVISED BUDGET 4.7.21
Project received offline donation of $12,750.
Crowdfunding efforts needed to cover the balance outlined below
| TOTAL PROJECT FUNDING NEEDED | $19,245 |
| ioby Fiscal Sponsorship Fee (5%) | N/A |
| ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) (Donation processing fee does not apply to match funding.) |
$595 |
| TOTAL TO RAISE= | $19,840 |
| Donation processing fees apply to donations only. 100% of match funding goes to projects. Please note, fees are estimated here and final numbers may change based on the final amount raised and amount of match funding applied to this campaign. |
$10,000 Artist Stipends
$2,000 Art Supplies - paints, brushes, cleaning supplies, tarps, rollers, graffiti protection, etc.
$4,000 Plaques and commemorative markers with written histories for each mural - installation, design, and materials to make, as well as maintenance.
$5,000 Event budgets for community gatherings, food, celebration during mural painting
$3,000 Stipends for volunteer organizers and speakers
$1,000 Photo references for murals
$6,000 Zeitgeist resources and staffing, insurance costs and incidentals
| PROJECT FUNDING NEEDED = | $31,000 |
| ioby Platform Fee | $35 |
| ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) | $960 |
| TOTAL TO RAISE = | $31,995 |
updates
Funding deadline!
Posted 10/08/2021 - 4:56pm
Hey all!
We are looking towards finishing the murals by the end of this month, weather pending, and then will be approaching the city about plaques/kiosks. :)
I am lowering the fundraising amount to $10,000 for the remainder of the project since we've been receiving donations outside of the platform. Future funds will be put towards the unexpected travel costs of two of our artists, who travel 18 hours roundtrip every week to help with the project!!
Powwow on Sunday!
Posted 09/13/2021 - 9:35pm
Follow updates here: https://www.facebook.com/Bizhiki
We have tons of paint on the walls and will be hosting a community painting session on Sunday, the 19th!
We have started painting!
Posted 08/30/2021 - 6:30pm
Follow our progress here: https://www.facebook.com/Chief-Buffalo-Memorial-Mural-Project-1024924521...
Future donations
Posted 08/17/2021 - 4:49pm
We're also taking donations to put towards the cost of Phase 2 of the project, which is what we were not approved to do - this includes one large exterior facing wall and potentially some architecture consulting to establish how the Indigenous plant life might be reintroduced to the site.
We are approved!!
Posted 08/17/2021 - 4:46pm
We have approval to continue the project!!!! <3 Miigwetch everyone for your donations and support thus far. We're so excited to finally get started in the next couple weeks. :) Stay tuned!
We're almost there!
Posted 06/12/2021 - 1:05pm
We got the opportunity to pursue a pretty large chunk of funding to cover some remaining costs, potentially bring another artist on board, and even potentially shoot a documentary on the piece and the story. :) Hopefully I'll hear back in the next week on that situation! Miigwetch to the generous donors of the last few days, your support is so appreciated. Right now I'm looking at submitting the first few designs to the Public Arts Commission this week so we can get started this month, and then another series for the community to paint in August (fingers crossed).
Updates!
Posted 04/06/2021 - 7:02pm
Hey all!
So in total we have raised $12,000, including the funds you see here (the $10,000+ has been from other platforms)! I am working on updating this page to reflect that amount. We also have gotten site approval for the project by the city, and will just need to submit designs in the coming months - so it is back to fundraising from here on out! Stay tuned for updates, and we appreciate all who have supported. Please keep sharing and supporting! Also feel free to subscribe to updates and learn how you can be a part of helping with this project by visiting my website. www.artbymoira.com
Gigawabamin!!
ARAC Funding
Posted 07/01/2020 - 3:07pm
We are grateful to the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council for selecting this project for $4,000 in funding as well - we will update the fundraiser to reflect that amount in the near future!
New Timeline
Posted 06/30/2020 - 5:39pm
Boozhoo!
Due to COVID-19, we are looking to postpone this project until Summer 2021, so until that point we will continue to fundraise. We are eligible for up to $300 in matching funding still so feel free to donate, share, and spread the word. Be safe all!
-Moira
photos
This is where photos will go once we build flickr integrationdonors
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Nevada L.
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Mary I.
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Carrie M.
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Beth H.
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Elissa H.
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Beth H.
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Jim Perlman
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Beth H.
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Dan Thiede
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Jenn W.
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Anonymous
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Andrea C.
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Jim Perlman
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Meg R.
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Jim Perlman
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Anonymous
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Greene Photography LLC
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Madilyne W.
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Corinne S.
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Anonymous
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Amy D.
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
nearby projects
Sorry, no nearby projects found.