Invoking the Spirit of Ruth Myers, Grandmother of American Indian Education in Minnesota

“Uncouth Ruth from Duluth” she loved to call herself to the delight of my young sons.  We all knew that nothing could have been more from the truth.

 

For decades, Ruth M Myers, known as the “grandmother of American Indian Education in Minnesota” was the driving force and voice for American Indian children and their families.  Though she died in 2001, Ruth left a legacy that might well serve as the model for Governor Dayton and the educators who are struggling with the same issues today.  Her spirit, ideas, courage, and unstinting commitment to American Indian learners set a standard to be emulated.  Her spirit can infuse and thus help shape today’s efforts.

 

Ruth was not a professional educator but a concerned parent, citizen and a proud member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.  Ruth was sent at an early age to an Indian boarding school, a sad fact that shaped her life and fueled her fervor.  Though she spoke little of those sad experiences, it was easy to feel her pain and the ways in which she harnessed that pain to inspire positive change.

 

Her accomplishments are legendary.  An elected member of the Duluth School Board, Ruth was appointed by the Governor as the first American Indian member of the Minnesota State Board of Education. Though at times she chaired that Board, she always ruled it by her presence and her persistence.

 

At the University of Minnesota Duluth where she worked for many years, she remains a legend.  She is credited with starting sixteen of seventeen UMD programs for American Indian students.  Colleagues there recall that, in 1973, she saw a notice in the newspaper that the UMD Medical School was developing a program for American Indians and, in the process, was organizing a committee of community members.  She knocked on the office door of the Dean of the Medical School and asked, “What Indians do you have on that committee?”  The rest is history….

 

Ruth’s position at UMD before retirement was Co-Director of the Center of American Indian and Minority Health at the School of Medicine.  There she tended not only to recruitment and academic coaching but to life’s details;  she regularly stopped at a legendary purveyor of low-cost fresh produce every time she had a meeting in St. Paul – which was often.  Often I think of how proud Ruth would be of the students to whom she offered a gentle helping hand at the most unexpected moment.

 

Not one to bow to academic measures, Ruth was truly pleased when UMD named the Ruth Myers Endowed Chair in American Indian Education; though she cared little about the honor she knew it would convey status and support on her beloved program.  She was also touched deeply when the Fond du Lac Community College Library was named for her; that library continues to reflect her influence in many ways.  Ruth understood well the power of the record; she often expressed a conviction that American Indian students should be encouraged to pursue professions in museums, libraries and archives so they could correct, complete and basically set the historic record straight.

 

Though the list of honors for Ruth is nearly infinite, possibly the most inclusive is the Minnesota Indian Education Association Elder of the Year – it says it all.

 

My introduction to Ruth was as a member of the State Board of Education.  On the first day, she reminded me that I was as much a member as any of the older and, I presumed, wiser members.  She also declared that,  from that day forward, I was to watch out for women’s issues so she could concentrate on American Indian and other minority students.  Ruth was the mistress of gentle delegation.

 

Though her accomplishments as a member and Chair of the State Board of Education are inestimable, a few stand out in my clear memory of those days:

 

• Ruth advocated unceasingly for review of the image of American Indians in textbooks, library materials, the core curriculum.

 

• She fought for preservation of American Indian languages in the schools.

 

• She insisted that every Minnesota student must know something about Indian culture.

 

• She regaled education professionals about their indifference to the nutritional needs and dietary threats (e.g. milk products) for American Indian youth.

 

• Ever open to change, Ruth examined every proposed rule from the perspective of how it would affect Indian kids and their families.

 

• And she would frequently point to the American Indian origins of the U of M Morris campus – and the rights of American Indian students who should be encouraged to exercise their inalienable right to attend UM-Morris.

 

Often a body of writing conveys the thoughts of an academic who wants to have a voice in the future.  For Ruth, the voice was so strong, the commitment so staunch, the vision so clear and the passion so fervent that it is her voice that speaks to those who will but hear.  My hope is that this includes those who are shaping the future of American Indian Education in Minnesota.  As with other great leaders, the vision outlives the individual and must inspire those who would seek to accomplish similar goals – if they will just listen.

 

My heart rejoiced just recently when I learned that the Duluth School Board has approved changing the name of the Grant Elementary School to Myers-Wilkins Elementary in honor of Ruth Myers and Marjorie Wilkins, an African American advocate.  The Board also approved naming the new auditorium at East High School as the Myers-Wilkins Auditorium. It was an unprecedented battle and a true victory that would please Ruth especially because the honor is shared.  It is a reminder that the voice of Ruth Myers lives.  Her vision and relentless commitment should set a tone and a pace for what comes of the recent first-ever Summit on American Indian Education.

Timeline Offers an Essential Guide to Laws Affecting Minnesota Women

With legislative politics on the front burner, the time is propitious to write about a public information resource I have long intended highlight:  The Minnesota Women’s Legislative Timeline: Significant Legislation Passed by the Minnesota Legislature Since Suffrage is  a joint project of the Office on the Economic Status of Women and the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, funded in part by the Minnesota Historical Society with Legacy funds..

As stated in the introduction, “the objective of the timeline is to have a visual display of the history of significant laws for women, passed by the Minnesota Legislature, since the advent of women’s suffrage.”  The authors add that, though “Minnesota approved the suffrage amendment in 1919…the 19th Amendment wasn’t fully ratified until 1920.”

The resulting timeline is truly revelatory, a legislative take on how change happens.  In 1931 the issue was women jurors, then came changes in protective labor laws (1924), child desertion (1931) and common law marriage (1941).

It is not surprising to note that the 40’s and 50’s saw little legislative action on social issues, including women’s concerns.

By the mid-1960’s the pace had quickened.  In 1967 the Legislature created the Department of Human Rights which included a division to assist women.  That law was amended in 1969 to include protections against discriminatory wage rates based on gender in the workplace. .

Focus moved to changes in workplace-related legislation with passage of parental leave (1989) followed a decade later by laws dealing with pregnant employees and accommodations for nursing mothers in 1998.  21^st Century legislation turns to grave concerns related to issues of sex trafficking (2005-2009) and domestic violence (2010).

These are highpoints only.  The timeline is far more comprehensive, meticulously annotated with legal references and links to the law.  For many of the entries the compilers offer a clear and concise explanatory essay.  The timeline also includes biographies of all of Minnesota’s women legislators.

Taken as a whole, the unique resource offers an overview of how change happens in the legislative arena – progress made and next steps.

The Minnesota Women’s Legislative Timeline stands as a tribute to the vision and work of librarians who maintained, organized and probed the legalrecord, the power of collaboration among state agencies, the impact of Legacy funds and the power of digital tools to expand access to essential public information.

 

A Tribute to Gloria Griffin, A Legendary Leader of the Women’s Movement

A pioneer in the women’s movement in Minnesota died last week.  By the time she died, Gloria Griffin was a bit of a woman, severely afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis for most of her life.  Because Gloria hasn’t been around so much in recent times so many younger women may not know her – but everyone knows her legacy, primarily the Minnesota Women’s Consortium and the Women’s Building on Rice Street, just North of the State Capitol.

What is not so evident is the women to whom she gave an opportunity.  I am one of those women and it is Gloria’s talent scouting impact that I experienced personally and that I try to deserve today.

When I first knew of Gloria Griffin, she was a commanding presence, a vocal force with considerable power because of her own political acumen, classy style and her commitment to giving women a chance to prove themselves and to contribute their perspective and their efforts to the common good.  A striking sophisticate Gloria was a business woman and candidate for Congress in 1976 in what was then the 2^nd Congressional District, a challenge that would weed out a lesser soul.

Though she didn’t win that election, she caught the attention of then first-termer and visionary Governor Rudy Perpich.  He created the Governor’s Open Appointments Commission, placing Gloria at the head with a mandate to include women and minorities in the pool.

Meanwhile I was a classic nobody, a single mom supporting two little boys on my wages as a temporary librarian at a small private college in Mankato.  My political engagement included a timid toe dipped in the DFL and maybe the Mankato Area League of Women Voters.  For reasons I have never cared to plumb, my name somehow bubbled to the top of what must have been a zillion candidates for gubernatorial appointment.  A call came for an appointment with the Governor’s Commission which was interviewing candidates for the Minnesota State Board of Education.

Having little to lose, I dug out some suitable garb, looked up the authority of the SBE, and headed for the State Capitol which I had probably not visited since Girls State circa 1958.

Gloria and her distinguished bipartisan Commission offered a gracious welcome markedly free of the condescending tone I had anticipated.   I survived and life went on.

Some weeks or months later I was at a work-related meeting at the Minnesota Valley Regional Library when a staffer broke in with a call for me – from the Governor’s office.  Unaccustomed as anyone was for me to get a call of any sort, definitely not from the Governor’s office, I’m sure the assumption was that I was in trouble for something, probably dereliction of duty or possibly child endangerment.

The message was that the Governor had just appointed me to the Minnesota State Board of Education, the Board responsible for K-12 and vocational ( AVTI’s in those days) and libraries.  To say the least, I was willing, if not necessarily ready or able.

Gloria’s long reach and commitment to giving women, even nobodies, a chance, changed my life.

The learning process she jump-started continues to this day, decades later.  I learned about the politics of education, state and local.  I experienced the real if implicit forces that shape and pull on the systems.  In the days of Title IX, displaced homemakers and the outrageous barriers facing women and girls I delighted in systemic de-construction of the system in order to effect change.  I learned about the pressures and the possibilities of politics writ large.

Gloria Griffin never knew me personally – we met but once at that formal interview.  Still, she used her mandate to give women with even a glimmer of potential a chance to grow, to learn and to contribute something, even if it were but the voice of a young mom on a board otherwise dominated by grey haired grandpas with political clout.

My story must be one of hundreds of similar reflections ignited by the news of Gloria’s death.  Others know about and laud her more public contributions.  I can speak only from my small touch with her impact.  I hope I do her proud – and I am both grateful and  strengthened to have felt her impact for these past three decades.

Note:  There have been and will be countless tributes to Gloria Griffin  – those who knew her will remember the stories; others will want to know more.  In his obituary for Gloria Tom Meersman, writing in the Strib, notes that Gloria “poked her nose into politics and helped women organize and improve their status in Minnesota.”  The interview with Gloria published in the collection entitled In the Company of Women: Voice from the Women’s Movement, edited by Bonnie Watkins and Nina Rothchild, offers a brief glimpse into the political awakening of this powerful and gracious woman.

 

Organizer and Athlete Kathryn Hogg Spurs Women’s Footy Surge in TC’s

Women who are wondering how to keep in shape – physically and socially – during the winter months to come should meet Kathryn Hogg and her plans for indoor Footy during the months to come.

Hogg is a self-identified “computer geek” who writes software for electric utilities, a mom, a catalyst, an awesome organizer and an importer – of an amateur sport that is gaining traction in Minnesota.    She is a prime mover in importing the Australian sport of Footy, more specifically women’s Footy, to the U.S. and to Minnesota.  She is patient to explain a bit about Australian Football to the uninitiated:

Australian Football is a fast paced exciting game that is played with a ball similar in shape but slightly larger than an American football.  It combines elements of soccer, basketball, ultimate, lacrosse, and even volleyball.  Points are scored by kicking the ball between goal posts at either end of the field.   The ball is advanced by hand passing or kicking.  Hand passes are similar to an underhand serve in volleyball and the kicks are similar to punts in American football.  Unlike soccer you can catch, grab, or pick up a ball.  Some of the most exciting and elegant plays occur when players are catching balls in the air which makes it exciting to play or watch and leads to the fast paced, high scoring nature of the game.

Hogg credits the rules as well as the players for the growth of Footy.

In general I like team field sports but I dislike offside rules.  To me, Aussie rules is the purest form of all the ball sports.  You use your hands and feet, no offside, and the ball is always live.

She compares Aussie Footy rules to the rules of Ultimate in which she is also an avid participant.  She recently told a reporter that “the appeal of ‘footy’ lies in what it is…fast-paced, competitive, with an emphasis on teamwork on and off the field and what it isn’t: It’s not rugby, as many assume, and it’s not violent, because it has tackling rules that prohibit American football-style collisions.”

Though Hogg was born in Australia, her parents moved back to Scotland when she was just nine months old so it’s difficult to connect the dots, but then again who knows?  The first evidence of her affinity for the Aussie sport is manifest years later when she settled in Minnesota.

As the story goes, back in 1980 Hogg started watching ESPN’s coverage of Aussie Rules Footy.  Over the years, as women began to be taken seriously in the sports world, Hogg decided to see if women were playing Aussie Rules Footy.

Hogg reports that her early Internet searches for women playing Footy led her to the “Victorian” Women’s Football League and to the USAFL site.  Using the chat forums of the US site she suggested that a women’s clinic should be held at the 2003 nationals.  A California Footy enthusiast saw that post and took it a step further by organizing teams to play in the inaugural women’s match in the US.

“The Orange County Bombshells and an all comers team played in Kansas City in October 2003.  The Bombshells routed the opposition by 44 points,” she remembers.  Recalling that “ruck” Hogg reflects “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything, the most memorable thing about the first women’s match was just being part of something new, and I guess scoring the first goal in American women’s Footy.”

From that humble beginning women’s Footy, has come into its own, much to the credit of Hogg.  She is a founding member of the women’s team of the Minnesota Freeze Australian Rules Football Club and of the Women’s League which joined with the men’s club to co-found the Minnesota Australian Football Council to foster both men’s and women’s Footy.

At the end of March 2005 US Footy announced that Hogg had been elected to the board unanimously in the newly created position of Women’s Portfolio with the intention of furthering the development of Women’s Australian Football in North America.  She; is also one of few women Minnesota Women plays on the U.S. national team competing in Australia’s International Cup tournament.

In 2011 the Minnesota Freeze Women’s Team fielded 25-30 players in its first year as an organized local women’s competition.  This year the team also embarked on a tiered program to enhance women’s participation.  The program includes a variety of options:

• “Fitness through Aussie Rules Football” from early January until mid-May, featuring training sessions (indoors) at different locations throughout the Twin Cities.  The Fitness program is open to women of all ages and physical abilities  who are “looking for that different type of workout, in a fun social environment.”
• The Rec Football League is a six week season of shorter training sessions featuring non-contact Footy played on a smaller field, limited to women players only.
• After the Rec Footy competition all players wishing to take it to the next level will have the opportunity to play on the Minnesota Women’s Team.  The ultimate goal is for some representatives of the Minnesota Freeze women’s team to represent the state at the National tournament in early October 2012.

Women’s Footy is becoming a year-round sport with an ever-growing field of women of all ages and physical abilities.  Keep up with the sport – and its ambitious promoter, Kathryn Hogg,  by checking the team’s website  or join other women’s Footy fans on Meetup.  Contact the team at women@mnfooty.com.  To totally immerse yourself in the game, check this video of a recent Australian Footy League game that Kathryn has posted on the local women’s footy site.

 

Minnesota Women’s Consortium – A Powerful Political Force Turns 30

For the young, thirty years is more than a lifetime.  For those who have shaped, joined and grown with the Minnesota Women’s Consortium for thirty years the past is prologue, a good start on the steady path to awareness of women’s issues, sound public policy and, ultimately, full equality for women and girls.

Forged by an intrepid band of committed “women’s libbers” of the early 80’s the Consortium originally brought together a small cadre of women’s groups who shared a vision and “common fate”.  Today the Consortium is the hub of a wheel that connects, listens to and speaks for over 160 organizations and their members.

After thirty years the Consortium is broader and stronger than ever, with a track record that reflects the changing times and that rivals the impact of any of the legion of high profile and well-heeled advocacy groups that flood the Capitol when it’s convenient then tend to vanish when the spotlight and the media attention fade.  Though generations of leadership in the array of member organizations cycle and recycle, the Consortium stays on a course marked by constant vigilance, coupled with a steady focus on that “common fate.”

Clearly, students of political science, better government, women’s studies, or Minnesota history must be plumbing the depths of MWC’s influence.  For the moment, a snapshot of MWC today offers a glimpse of the Consortium’s steadfast presence and indefatigable strength.

Though self-promotion is about the last thing on her to-do list, Bonnie Peace Watkins, Executive Director of the Consortium, agreed to take a deep breath and talk a bit about MWC at thirty. Because the list of concerns and possibilities is overwhelming, we focused on just one of MN2020’s priorities, health care.

Watkins  cites “woman-centered health care” as one of the “five dreams of women.”  With sardonic humor she dismisses some prevailing stereotypes then describes what the Consortium has been doing, including convening an episodic series of conversations with member groups concerned about health care issues.

Looking back on  health care and wellness discussions Watkins lists a host of topics explored in collaboration by those MWC member organizations:  “choice, of course, but also DES (cervical cancer), breast cancer, the Heart Association Go Red campaign for women’s heart health, the home economists’ assertion that we have to address childhood obesity, better nutrition education and more physical fitness minutes in K-12 schools, disparities special concern to women of color and recent immigrants.”  Clearly, the discussions are broad range and anticipatory of issues that have subsequently become mainstream on the public agenda.

Watkins reflects that “we have educated ourselves together and assertively interacted with experts such as former Senator Berglin, Senator Marty, and Nancy Feldman, CEO of UCare among others.”  She smiles when she recalls that Senator Franken “convened a special meeting of women’s groups on this issue in our basement in the midst of the crazy town hall meetings elsewhere when Congress was debating ACA…That was a very deep and impressive conversation – we were so glad he recognized the wealth of expertise.”

Woman-centered health care is one of many priorities with which the Consortium and its diverse members grapple every day in myriad ways.  Though the persistent work of the Consortium is day-by-day a website, unique, a countless public programs offer the latest on issues and an astounding calendar of relevant events, all access to individuals and organizations who want to learn and to share.   MWC sets a pace that proves beyond a doubt that you really can trust an organization over thirty!

 

Bonnie Watkins To Leave ED Position at Minnesota Women’s Consortium

Bonnie Watkins, long-time Executive Director of the Minnesota Women’s Consortium, announced today that she is leaving her position January 2` “right after our fabulous Celebration32 party on January 26.”  Watkins’ plan is “to take up once again a past career as freelance writer.”

 

Watkins has actually worked with MWC for much longer than her nine years as ED.  For 23 years prior to that she was a committed volunteer who played a major role in shaping and Consortium under the direction of her predecessors.

 

In her message to MWC members and friends Watkins writes, “I believe the Consortium is strong and ready to move forward, thanks to all of you.”  Details about the next steps for Watkins and for MWC will be forthcoming.

 

 

Ka Vang Discusses Her Work at Hmong Writers Fireside Chat

For Ka Vang, promoting her creative work and chatting with  her readers does not come easily.  Some time ago she wrote “as Asians we are taught to be modest…humble…not to brag, and I try to adhere to this philosophy.”

 

Vang, a Minnesota writer with Hmong roots, is a versatile artist whose stories, essays, plays and poetry have been widely published in anthologies and as independent works.  She is the featured writer at the Hmong Writers Fireside Chat Series, presented by Hmong Arts Connection and Hnub Tshiab, Hmong Women Achieving Together.  The program includes a conversation with the Artist, Friday, November 11, 6:30 p.m. and a workshop on Magic Realism set for Saturday, November 12, 9:30-Noon.

 

Both conversations with Vang are at Dreamland Arts, 677 Hamline Avenue, St Paul.  On Friday there will be a reception following the program; on Saturday a continental breakfast will be provided.

 

Daughter of a major in the Royal Lao Army and a shaman, Vang was born in Long Cheng, Laos, in 1975.  After spending most of her early years in Thai refugee camps, she and her family settled in St. Paul’s Frogtown.

 

For Vang, as with her family and friends, bi-culturalism was a major influence on her young life.  Her interest in bi-culturalism and travel are evident in her academic life. After earning a degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota she attended Xavier University in New Orleans where she studied African American history and literature.  In the late 1990’s she studied at King’s College in London where she delved into literature and theater, with a focus on the work of William Shakespeare.

 

One way that Vang dealt with her issues of bi-culturalism was through her intense interest in international travel that is manifest in her life and her writing today. Reflecting her passion to understand Hmong culture in various environments, Hmong stories, folklore and customs she often writes about identity and heritage themes while interweaving magic realism throughout her work.

 

A highlight of Vang’s professional life was her recognition as recipient of the Jerome Study and Travel grant that allowed her to travel extensively in France and Germany to study the lives and folklore of the Hmong people who settled in Europe.  She has also researched the lives and folklore of the Hmong in Australia, Laos, and China.  Among her many honors are the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Grant and the Bush Artist Grant

 

Vang’s first stab at writing was as a journalist where she was one of the first Hmong reporters at several newspapers including the Minnesota Daily, the St Paul Pioneer Press and the Chicago Tribune.

 

Early in her writing life Vang turned her   creative interests  to playwriting when she was a fellow at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis.  Her one-act play Disconnect, was performed there and later at Theater Mu during the New Eyes Festival.  Disconnect continues to be performed and is published in the Hmong American literary anthology Bamboo Among the Oaks.  Other plays written by Yang have been published and performed; among her best known works is From Shadows to Light, which mixed contemporary international women’s issues with traditional art forms from Asia.

 

Vang reached out to new audiences with her short stories, poetry and essays that continue to be published in a host of anthologies.  Consistent themes and characteristics of her work include her frank confrontation of sex and sexuality, race, culture and racism as well as for her sometimes elaborate constructions and dark humor.  ( An example of this last – When asked by a reporter from the Asian American Press “Do you see yourself as a pioneer?” Vang replied “Please, give me a break.  Weren’t those the people who landed on Plymouth Rock?  Well, in the words of Malcolm X, I didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, it landed on me….”

 

Though most of her work is hers alone, Vang has also collaborated with numerous Hmong writers who live in Minnesota.  She has worked with Bao Phi, Ed Bok Lee, Juliana Pegues, Mai Neng Moua and others.

 

For ten years Vang was a regular contributor to Minnesota Women’s Press.  Though she is no longer writing for MWP Vang expresses her gratitude for “the opportunity to have written for so long for the Women’s Press.  Her writing now is focused on a work-in-progress.  Vang says “I am trying to find a publisher for my short story collection, tentatively titled Tou Tongue Tiger and the Infinite Story.  Vang says eaders should expect a collection with “elements of magical realism and old fashioned Hmong stories.”

Vang is also completing her first novel that tells the story of three generation sof Hmong women.

 

Vang’s literary life is an ongoing priority in a very busy life.  For the past six years Vang has been employed with the Minnesota State College and University system in the Office of the Chancellor where she is the Director of Diversity Programs.  In that role she provides training, technical assistance and other support for MnSCU colleges and universities.  She also finds time to be an active member of the community and a sometime political activist.

 

Still her priority is to be in communication with Hmong women who she feels are underrepresented in the decision-making process in their communities.  For example, in that same interview with the reporter from Asian American Press, Vang  responded to a question about “the explosion of Hmong writers from playwrights to slam poets” with this quick thought:  “I think it is a great thing….It is truly a Hmong renaissance happening to our people in America.  We have an explosion not only in arts, but also politics, and commerce, so I encourage all Hmong writers to get their work out to the community.  Every voice makes a difference.”

 

Though an exhaustive listing of Ka Vang’s published works is overwhelming, those who have not experienced her unique voice may wish to start with some of the following:

 

• Her essays and short stories appear in How do I begin? A Hmong American Literary Anthology, published by Heyday Books
• Riding Shotgun: Women Write about their Mothers, published by Borealis Press
• Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories, published by Lethe Press
• Bamboo Among the Oaks, published by Borealis Press
• Charlie Chan Is Dead 2: At Home in the World, published by Penguin Books
• Disconnect, performed by Theatre Mu
• Dead Calling, performed at Intermedia Arts
• Shadows in Light, performed by Theater Mu at Mixed Blood

 

Questions?  email may@hmongartsconnection.org

 

Note:  The Fireside Chat series is funded in part by the Minnesota State Arts Board through the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

 

“Miss Representation” Explores Media Bias

“Miss Representation” is the next in the 2011 Women’s Human Rights Film Series sponsored by the Advocates for Human Rights in collaboration with The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and Metropolitan State University.  The film is set for Wednesday, November 9, 7:00 p.m. at Metro State Founder’s Hall Auditorium, 700 East Seventh Street, St. Paul.

 

The film “uncovers a glaring reality in our society…how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in influential positions in America.”  It challenges the media’s limiting and often disparaging portrayals of women.  Included in the story are stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with influential women from Condoleezza Rice to Gloria Steinem.  The promotion material promises that “the film accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.”

 

All of the films in the series are free and open to the public.  Sign language interpretation and other accommodations are available with advance notice.

 

Contact The Friends at friends@thefriends.org or 651 222 3242.  More information at www.thefriends.org.

 

Red Wing AAUW hosts premiere of documentary “Women Making Change”

Women Making Change, premiering this weekend in Red Wing, will make a change by telling the tale.  The documentary recounts the story of Minnesota women who have made a difference in the political arena.  The opening event is Saturday, September 24, 7:00 p.m. at the historic Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing, home of the key producer, former legislator Sandy Wollschlager.  The film and the event are sponsored by the Red Wing Branch of the American Association of University Women along with local sources including the Red Wing Area Fund, Husom & Rose Photographics., and the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Based on Goodhue County as a microcosm the film recounts the experiences of Minnesota women who have made change.  The Red Wing/Goodhue County area has elected women from both major political parties to state office;  it has also the home of the Prairie Island Indian Community which has elected women to leadership positions.

Those interviewed for the documentary include Audrey Bennett, President of the Prairie Island Tribal Council; State Representative Laura Brod; Lieutenant Governor Joanell Dyrstad; Secretary of State Joan Anderson Growe; Speaker of the House, Margaret Anderson Kelliher; policy analyst Hue Nguyen; U of M Professor Kathryn Pearson; Star Tribune political news editor Lori Sturdevant; community activist Linda Thielbar;  State Representatives Kathy Tingelstad; and Sandy Wollschlager.  The elected officials included in the documentary are no longer in office.

The evening’s event will feature several people who were involved in the project as well as a slide show of Goodhue County women in politics over the decade.  Top that off with music by the Hot Flashes offering music of the 50’s, 60’s and beyond, door prizes and a reception.

Twin Cities Public Television, producer of the documentary, will broadcast Women Making Change statewide after the premiere.

Tickets for the premiere are $15, $10 for students, available through the Red Wing Arts Association Depot Gallery or through AAUW members – or call 651 388 6478.