Dylan is in his second year of the HSPH master’s program studying archaeological heritage. Of Dakota heritage (Santee and Sisseton descendent), he grew up in Minneapolis and Shakopee and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Latin America Area Studies with a minor in American Indian studies from the University of Minnesota, Morris. His current research interests include Indigenous archaeology, Indigenous earthworks and mortuary practices, Dakota history, Indigenous Studies, and digital methods in archaeology.

Prior to attending graduate school, Dylan worked with state and tribal governments to preserve American Indian burial sites, recover inadvertently disturbed materials, and repatriate and rebury American Indian remains, funerary objects, and objects of cultural patrimony. Upon graduation, Dylan aspires to work with cultural resources in a state, federal, or tribal capacity. His longer-term goals include returning to academia and writing on Indigenous archaeology.

As an HSPH graduate student, Dylan was an intern in the Native American Initiatives Department at the Minnesota Historical Society. In summer 2018, he was a fellow at
Summer fellowship with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council.

The following is Dylan’s first-person account of his internship at the Minnesota Historical Society:
“The Heritage Studies & Public History program at the University of Minnesota aims to diversify multiple narratives and fields through practices of public history, historic preservation, and archaeology. It is immensely important to me that such narratives and fields be welcoming of the land’s original inhabitants, the Dakota, who have called Minnesota home since time immemorial. Interning with the Native American Initiatives department at the Minnesota Historical Society gave me a tremendous experience articulating Dakota culture and history in a public space and showed me first-hand the positive impacts that can transpire when meaningful community engagement occurs.

While Interning at the Minnesota Historical Society I had the opportunity to revise and recommend changes to online texts on Dakota history and culture. The revisions not only created a more inclusive narrative of Minnesota’s history, but also recognized the significance and ties the Dakota have with the landscape of Mni Sota. The updating of public texts ensures that diversity is welcomed while also ensuring the cultural and historical accuracy of texts.

I also had the privilege of working with Dakota community leaders on organizing the annual Dakota Omniceye, an event at Bdote and Historic Fort Snelling. Bdote, is, on one hand, a sacred site of creation and spiritual beliefs.  Yet, following the 1862 war between the Dakota and the U.S., Bdote became a site of genocide as many Dakota died while imprisoned there; those who survived were exiled out of the state. Thus, it is vitally important to make Bdote both welcoming and inclusive of Dakota beliefs and history. In 2018, the Dakota Omniceye created a space where Dakota language teachers taught language lessons, traditional lacrosse was played, and teachings in traditional Dakota floral patterns were shared. The internship with the Native American Initiatives department at the Minnesota Historical Society gave me a first-hand experience of putting into practice the goals and values of Heritage Studies & Public History at the University of Minnesota.”

Tianna Odegard is a first-year HSPH master’s student in the Archaeological Heritage track. Her research interests include burial law, NAGPRA, lateral oppression, autoethnographies, and continuity of native history in Minnesota.

Before attending the HSPH program, Tianna held several different positions including Tribal Historic Preservation Office Assistant, Tribal Cultural Monitor, Tribal Tobacco Education and Policy Coordinator, and Burial Recovery Specialist. In 2015, Tianna was a fellow in the Native American Museum Fellowship program with the Minnesota Historical Society. She is also currently serving a four-year appointment as an Upper Sioux Community Housing Authority Commissioner, as well as serving as the Treasurer & Secretary. During her tenure on the housing commission, she is most proud of the Community’s purchase of two complexes to house Upper Sioux Tribal Community Members in Granite Falls, MN.

Tianna is enjoying all of her classes so far. In Leadership and Future of Historical Organizations, she is most looking forward to meeting, collaborating, and talking with heritage professionals working in the field. While she has a background in human skeletal remains, she is eager to learn more about identifying animal remains in her zooarchaeology course. In Core Practices in Heritage Studies and Public History, Tianna likes that she can apply the skills she is learning to the way she negotiates her work and develops research. Her main goal for the future is to embody change in her community through the field of archaeology.

When she is not hard at work studying or serving as a housing commissioner, Tianna likes to hang out with her family, go to the movies, go golfing, play tennis, and volunteer at animal shelters.

Denise Pike is in her second and final year of pursuing a master’s degree in Heritage Studies and Public History with a focus on Public History.

Her research interests include urban history, development of the urban environment, race in history, and architecture and design. In particular, Denise uses visualization tools to show historical data in contemporary settings through data and mapping.

Before attending the HSPH program, Denise completed her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Minnesota with a major in Urban Studies in 2016. While completing the last semester of her undergraduate degree she took a public history course with Professor Kevin Murphy and, at that time, was informed of the newly developed HSPH master’s program shared between the College of Design and the College of Liberal Arts, in partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society. The opportunity to participate in a master’s program that reimagines and reinvigorates what it means to be a Public History scholar piqued Denise’s interest because of the work she does empowers marginalized voices, pushes boundaries, and opens dialogues with the intention of educating others.

Denise’s first year in the HSPH master’s program opened many opportunities to grow as a public historian. Through an examination of case studies, the academic courses provided her with an understanding of the power of public history. Professional opportunities included a spring 2018 internship with Mapping Prejudice and a 2018 summer fellowship as a curator of an exhibit. Denise was able to practice as a public historian first hand with a fellow cohort colleague Kacie Lucchini Butcher as curators to create the exhibit titled Owning Up: Racism and Housing in Minneapolis which was on display at the Hennepin History Museum from August 2018 through January 2019.

Because of their hard work, passion, and dedication they were awarded the Josie R. Johnson Human Rights and Social Justice Student Award by the University of Minnesota Office of Equity and Diversity. More importantly, Denise and Kacie were able to produce a project that presented stories and histories of three black families as they searched for home and community in white-dominated neighborhoods during the twentieth century in Minneapolis.

Denise enjoyed her fall semester. In the newly offered HSPH course Digital​ ​Methods​ ​for​ ​Heritage​ ​Studies​ ​&​ ​Public​ ​History, Denise and Kacie created a website to complement their exhibit Owning Up. In spring 2019,  Denise is looking forward to attending the National Council on Public Historic conference with Kacie where they will be collaborating to conduct a round table discussion on Racial Housing Discrimination. As her last year draws nearer, Denise is a self-motivated individual that thrives working in a self-directed environment and hopes to continue exploring communities that were negatively impacted by the construction of 35W in Minneapolis through oral histories and mapping to digitally recreate a landscape that connects the space to memory after she graduates.

Besides mastering the rigor of grad school and balancing professional development opportunities, Denise’s activities include roller derby, graphic design, photography, reading and spending time with friends and family. In the years to come, Denise sees herself as an unconventional professional that challenges how we see the surrounding urban landscapes. She believes that our interaction with the past will undoubtedly make a meaningful impact on our collective future.