A legacy in Minneapolis
The Minneapolis American Indian Center has a rich history as one of the first urban Native centers in the country, providing services and a communal gathering space often unavailable to Native people living in cities. The center opened on Franklin Avenue in 1975 in response to the flood of Native people moving from reservations to cities thanks to federal relocation policies that promoted jobs and community in urban areas. The center was initially formed by community members, and we continue this legacy today with a majority American Indian leadership and staffing.
Our mission is to provide essential services within a foundation of cultural values that meet the needs of the Native community. It is lived out through youth, elder, and intergenerational programs that help provide stability, strengthen connection to culture and community, improve health and wellness, achieve academic success, and establish pathways to living wage jobs that break the cycle of generational poverty. Programs and services are provided at no cost to participants. About 10,000 people participate in the center’s programs, and many more visit the center for events and to eat at Gatherings Cafe.
The Minneapolis American Indian Center is celebrating its 50th year of operation in 2025. The programs and services continuously evolve to meet community needs; there are currently about 50 people on staff, and the building underwent a massive renovation and expansion in 2024 that sets us up to serve our relatives for generations to come.
A renovation to support future generations
The Minneapolis American Indian Center reopened in May 2024 after being closed for more than a year for a historic renovation project that restored, preserved, and expanded the facility. Programming and resources available at the center have grown over the years, and the renovation sets us up to continue meeting the needs of the community for future generations. Highlights of the renovation include:
- Added more than 20,000 square feet to the building, including a new kitchen and dining space for Gatherings Cafe, a new conference room, and central rotunda.
- Improved energy and electrical efficiency.
- Updated technology and accessibility.
- Added and improved program spaces, including the addition of the Best Buy Teen Tech Center for our youth.
- Added a new fitness center space and improvements to the gymnasium.
Watch the video below by Loeffler Construction and Consulting to learn more about the renovation and to see the space.
The historic renovation was made possible thanks to the All Roads Capital Campaign, which has successfully raised $30 million of our $32.5 million goal so far.
Explore the murals and signage in the center
George Morrison Mural
In 1974 and 1975, George Morrison (Grand Portage Ojibwe) created a mural for the Minneapolis American Indian Center that is based on a feather turning in space. During the center’s renovation, the mural was carefully taken apart and shipped to Montana where each piece of cedar was restored before being reassembled on an exterior wall of the center.
I See Generations: Keep Tobacco Sacred Mural
The mural was designed using feedback from more than 100 local Native youth around themes of who they are, health, traditional tobacco, and their hopes for the future. It reflects the strength of the community’s collective wisdom and hope for future generations. Before the renovation, the mural was on an exterior wall of the center. Today, it’s home is in the Frances Fairbanks Memorial Gymnasium.
Room signage in Dakhóta and Anishinaabemowin
Many of the room signs in the Minneapolis American Indian Center include QR codes that can be scanned to hear the room name in Anishinaabemowin and Dakhóta. A committee of Minneapolis American Indian Center staff, community members, and project partners decided to include audio versions of the room names because the languages are traditionally oral. There also may be different spellings for certain words depending on region/tribe.