Celebrating 100+ Students in Native American Undergraduate Museum Fellowship Program

Immersive program exposes fellows to opportunities within the museum, cultural resources, public history, and Tribal preservation fields

For immediate release

Contacts

 Jack Bernstein, 651-259-3058, jack.bernstein@mnhs.org or Allison Ortiz, 651-259-3051, allison.ortiz@mnhs.org

ST. PAUL, Minn (June 3, 2024) – Eight students representing a wide variety of colleges, universities, and communities across the Midwest make up the 2024 cohort of the Native American Undergraduate Museum Fellowship (NAUMF) program. This cohort represents a major milestone; since launching in 2011, more than 100 students from around the country and representing more than 50 Tribal Nations have participated in the program!

NAUMF, an innovative program organized by the Native American Initiatives Department at the Minnesota Historical Society, is designed to expose students to careers in the museum field through a ten-week program. NAUMF fellows participate in three weeks of workshops and seminars, followed by seven weeks of immersive paid internship opportunities. Program alumni have accepted jobs in related fields, including Tribal historic preservation officers, language revitalization coordinators, national museum/MNHS staff members, museum curators, art gallery directors, and many more.

This ten-week MNHS Native American Undergraduate Museum Fellowship program is made possible by the State of Minnesota's Legacy Amendment, through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008, and our generous donors and members.

About the Native American Initiatives team

The NAI team is an advocate for Native communities and Native nations at the Minnesota Historical Society, serving as a bridge between community needs and MNHS resources, engaging with Native communities and nations throughout the state, and ensuring Native voices, stories, and concerns are addressed in MNHS work. The NAI team conducts research, provides content, and creates programming and engagement opportunities across the state.

About the Minnesota Historical Society

The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. MNHS collects, preserves, and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries and collections, historic sites, educational programs, and book publishing. Using the power of history to transform lives, MNHS preserves our past, shares our state’s stories, and connects people with history.

Members of the 2024 NAUMF cohort include:

Miranda Bartlett.

Miranda Bartlett

Miranda Bartlett comes from the Wahpethunwan and Bdewakanthunwan bands of Dakota people. She currently studies American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. She has a passion for community and is motivated by the people around her.

Daryl Baumann.

Daryl Baumann

Daryl Baumann is a full-time husband, father, student, and enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. He is working toward completing his Baccalaureate from the College of St. Scholastica and continuing the Creator's work by revitalizing Anishinaabe language and culture in community school districts. He is from Minneapolis, but currently lives in the Sandstone/Hinckley area with his wife, daughter, three sons, and two dogs. 

Jordan Bush.

Jordan Bush

Jordan Bush is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation located in Washington state. Although she is from Washington, she also grew up on the Flathead Reservation in northwest Montana and considers both home. She recently obtained her bachelor’s degree in Tribal Historic Preservation from Salish Kootenai College along with a certification in Geospatial science. She is an avid reader, enjoys walks in nature, and has a love for learning and research, especially as it relates to her culture. 

Kalei Ganser.

Kalei Ganser

Kalei Ganser is a Chamoru and Kānaka Maoli museum studies major at Macalester College. She has a minor in anthropology and plays club water polo during the fall season. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida.

Lydia Olson.

Lydia Olson

Lydia Olson is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Orielles Ojibwe Nation. She is a rising junior at Carleton College, majoring in Studio Art with a minor in Digital Art and Humanities. She loves to make art, spend time with family, and travel. She is very excited to learn more about Indigenous histories and preservation at the Minnesota Historical Society this summer.

Isaac Trimble.

Isaac Trimble

Isaac Trimble comes from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. He is going into his third year at the University of Minnesota and is currently studying American Indian Studies.

Zoe VandeBerg.

Zoe VandeBerg

Zoe VandeBerg is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, bear clan. She is a Sociology major and a Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor at Winona State University. She is very passionate about being involved with on-campus activities, including her student club, the Turtle Island Student Organization. In her free time, Zoe enjoys beading earrings and getting outdoors with her dogs.

Angel Vazquez.

Angel Vazquez

Angel Vazquez is from Flandreau, South Dakota. He is Dakota and enrolled in the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. He is a junior at the University of South Dakota majoring in Anthropology and Sustainability. He is excited for what the NAUMF program has in store and looks forward to participating this year.