(traditional drum playing) (singers singing in native language) (audience applauding) - All My Relations Gallery has been an operation since 1999, and it was established by a founder who recognized that Native American artists were not receiving the same opportunities as their contemporary colleagues, and so the space was created specifically for American Indian contemporary artists.

(slow dramatic music) This new exhibition is titled Okizi, which is a Dakota word meaning "to heal."

And it's been part of an ongoing relationship that has been established between All My Relations Arts and the American Swedish Institute.

It is in response to the traveling exhibition that is being hosted at the American Swedish Institute called Arctic Highways.

And the more that we were talking about what their exhibition was featuring, there was two artists and their work was titled "Mygration."

And they were sharing how the Sámi people had this relationship with the reindeer.

And it piqued my interest of like, "Oh, Native people have a relationship with the Buffalo, you know, the Plains Indians, Dakota people, you know, we have this relationship with the Buffalo.

Like, so there's this similarity that I can respond to, and then also more and more that we've learned about like the Sámi people.

and the experiences they've gone through in terms of language loss and boarding school experiences, which is so much similar and parallel to what Native people here in this country have experienced with our language loss, and the impacts of Native American boarding schools.

So it was really recognizing how we had a shared similarity in our cultures.

(uptempo dramatic music) I myself, you know, being able to learn more about the Sámi culture and the Sámi people is something I didn't grow up learning about.

So this has provided an opportunity for me to be able to learn more about Sámi people.

(uptempo dramatic music) - Sámi people are the only Indigenous people in Europe, and the definition of Indigenous people is the people that were living and have their own language, and their own livelihood in a specific geographic area before it was nationalized and the border were drawn.

I would say the starting point, I mean I've been working almost 40 years as artist, and it's only the latest 10 years I would say that we started to get recognition from abroad.

I think it's, I believe it's United States and Canada has been kind of started this attention to Indigenous, although USA has a horrible history toward their Indigenous, but that sends a signal to Europe and Scandinavia.

(slow relaxing music) The favorite part is that we could collaborate with other Indigenous artists.

In Arctic Highway, we are nine Sámi artists from Sweden, Norway, and Finland, and there are two from Canada, and one from Alaska.

(slow relaxing music) I can see here in Minnesota, and the Dakota, Lakota tribes that we share that connection to the land.

(slow dramatic music) It was kind of a, with the help of the American Swedish Institute that we managed to exhibit Mygration and Arctic Highway, and All My Relations Gallery at the same time to build bridges and including Indigenous people in America.

We do this exhibition from Indigenous to Indigenous, but of course all the public is welcome.

(slow relaxing music) - So we have the three exhibits.

There's Arctic Highways, there's Mygration, and then there's our family gallery experience in Nature's Story.

All of these exhibits are intertwined in various ways.

Artists that exhibit in some of them and some in others.

This what we're seeing here.

Mygration was in collaboration with All My Relation Arts, a friendship that we've been building with the Indigenous community here in Minnesota.

Part of this exhibit is on display at All My Relations, and part of it is here, and it goes together with Okizi, which is an exhibit that All My Relations has.

Again, half of the art is at their gallery, and the other half is here at the American Swedish Institute.

(people murmuring) (person laughing) - I'm an artist that works with animals and nature, so I paint in black and white and I'm inspired by the Chinese ink painting.

And also I'm a sculpturist, so I'm interested in light and shape.

And then the grayish colors and the black and white suits me very well.

I saw that Tomas Colbengtson was going to do some glass art in the house where I have my studio and I just read that he's coming there and I thought we were just acquaintances.

And then I had this dream during the night that I see my paintings and his art together in a special way.

And I just made a sketch of that, and contacted Tomas, and asked him if he was interested to do a collaboration.

And we started to work with Mygration.

(slow dramatic music) It's important because it's a forgotten history.

In school, we read so little about the Sámi culture.

So I think it's very important to lift, focus on the forgotten history that is around us.

So that was the inspiration of Mygration.

And then we, the name is M-Y-gration, so it's my trip and your trip, and the group's Migration too.

So it's both individual and a group.

So it's also about time, like past, present, and future.

(people murmuring) I always get tears in my eyes when I walked in.

I got so emotional because of seeing the crowd and the people amongst the art.

it's very touching, (slow dramatic music) - ASI very much engages locally and then connects globally.

I think that is one of the big things.

But more importantly, it is a gathering place for people.

The connection that I think is most exciting is because we have the Sámi, who are the Indigenous folk of the Nordic countries.

And they are Indigenous like we are, like I am.

And so to have them here with their culture and be able to do that cultural exchange, because we kind of mirror each other.

An ASI is this wonderful a conduit and host to bring us.

- Well done all of our artists, and all of you gere in this room, I greet you.

- I am a member of the Lower Sioux Indian community, Cansayapi, where they paint the trees red.

We not only remember our ancestors.

and thank them for the choices and decisions they made, so we can be in this moment, but we also think of the generations to come.

And so we do things to hopefully let them know that we cared about them and loved them, and the Sámi have so many things and ideas and life ways and culture that are so, like I said, a mirror image of what our experience here in the United States as Indigenous people are.

(uptempo dramatic music) (uptempo electronic music) - [Announcer] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Windom, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails.

and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com, the Lake Region Arts Councils Arts Calendar, an arts and cultural heritage funded digital calendar, showcasing upcoming art events and opportunities for artists in West Central Minnesota.

On the web at lrac4calendar.org.

Playing today's new music plus your favorite hits, 96 7 CRA.

Online at ninetysixseven.com.

(upbeat music)