​AICHO Executive Director LeAnn Littlewolf received the Minnesota Housing Partnership Outstanding Advocate Award and was recognized along with statewide housing advocate champions, including Governor Walz, key legislators including Representative Liish Kozlowski, and long-time housing champion Henry Banks, Duluth School Board member. LeAnn has worked in building a response to housing needs since 2000, working directly with youth on the streets living in housing crisis, as a Tribal housing organizer, and policy advocate. She has served on different statewide and local policy groups throughout the years. This past year, LeAnn joined the political committee for the Our Future Starts At Home, a campaign to ensure dedicated housing funding secured through a constitutional amendment. On receiving the award, LeAnn had this to say: “It is an honor to stand in a field of advocates in Minnesota who work their hearts out to move policies and resources to create housing in Minnesota. We are building a Minnesota that speaks through our actions that we will not rest until everyone has a home.” 

For AICHO's first in-person event of the Indigenous Writer Series, Thomas (Tom) Peacock (Fond du Lac Ojibwe tribal member) and Elizabeth (Betsy) Albert-Peacock (Red Cliff Ojibwe tribal member) of Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing.

Tom and Betsy read passages from their books, shared about their writing processes and influences, working with Indigenous illustrators, and Tom shared a beautiful excerpt from his new book in progress.
The event ended with a book signing and sale. The community came out to support these Indigenous writers with us.

The session was moderated by Dr. Jill Doerfler (White Earth Ojibwe direct descendant), Department Director of UMD Department of American Indian Studies who co-hosted the event.

Miigwech to McKnight Foundation for funding AICHO’s Indigenous Writers Series.

Onigaaminsing, Duluth, was the location of this year’s Minnesota Council of Nonprofits annual conference on September 20 – 21 at the DECC. It was an honor to serve on the planning committee with several other dedicated individuals who are working throughout the state of Minnesota to create better systems and partnerships “to meet the increasing information needs of nonprofits” and work on common issues that concern everyone.

I have been to countless conferences in my thirty year career. In the first twenty years, there was never really any meaningful inclusion of Native or BIPOC representation at any of the non-diverse themed conferences that I attended which means there were no diverse inclusion or representation considered in the planning of those conferences. In the past 10 years, organizations and conference planning committees are doing a better job at making everyone who attends their events feel valued and included. It’s important to have a diverse planning committee, diverse representation in the speakers and activity leads with any project that is meant for the community. Diverse speakers bring rich histories and lived experiences, unseen and seen connections, and values that everyone can learn from and be inspired by.​

As a planning committee member, I helped to ensure a strong Anishinaabeg participation, representation and presence at the conference. I worked closely with the Courtney Gerber, and the planning committee, to invite Fond du Lac Ojibwe elder and tribal member Ricky DeFoe to provide a cultural Anishinaabeg ceremony to open the conference in a good way, Co-Director of John Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health Melissa Walls (Bois Forte Ojibwe descendant) who gave the keynote on the first day, AICHO Executive Director LeAnn Littlewolf (Leech Lake Ojibwe tribal member) presented on a workshop panel, musician Briand Morrison (Grand Portage Ojibwe tribal member) to provide free-style jazz guitar music during opening day’s evening session, and artist Moira Villiard (Fond du Lac Ojibwe direct descendant) who provided a tour of the Chief Buffalo Mural Project and designed the conference’s beautiful logo that symbolized the conference’s theme of “Making Waves & Breaking Barriers.”

For people who know me well, they know that I don’t like speaking in public. Even so, I made the decision to open the conference on the first day as Ricky and Melissa were part of the opening program. There were over 600 people in attendance. I walked up to the podium on the stage and began my welcome in my Ojibwe language (with translation) with a formal introduction of who I am. I shared about AICHO’s mission and all of our amazing programs, and I then got to share how important one of my cultural heroes, Ricky DeFoe, is to me and to everyone. People don’t always get to hear what people mean to the community. It’s nice and healing when it happens. I invited Ricky to come up to the stage and share his ceremony. His ceremony preceded Melissa Walls’ keynote entitled, “Indigenous Health & Well-Being: Lessons for Partnerships and Equity.” Everything flowed smoothly together like ripples of water for that opening session and I was, and still am, proud that I was fortunate enough to be a part of it. Many people came up to all three of us after the opening to thank us for our words and work within the Indigenous and greater community. It was one of the most uplifting moments of my life. Miigwech to Minnesota Council of Nonprofits for this opportunity and for a strong racial and gender inclusion and representation before and during this state-wide conference. My hats off to you all.

​Ivy Vainio
Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant
AICHO’s Arts and Culture Coordinator