This two-day convening brings together artists, scholars, cultural practitioners, and community leaders to examine Indigenous knowledge systems as epistemic frameworks for reshaping institutional practice.

Through panel conversations and dialogue sessions, participants will explore relational caretaking as a guiding principle for museums and public institutions, one rooted in Indigenous understandings of responsibility, reciprocity, and stewardship across communities, lands, and knowledge systems.

What you can expect:

Participants can expect two days of conversation, connection, and collective learning centered around art, Indigenous knowledge systems, relational caretaking, and institutional transformation.

The convening will open on Monday October 12 at 5:00 PM with an evening keynote presentation by heather ahtone, PhD, followed by a reception with light bites, offering opportunities to gather, meet speakers and fellow participants.

Tuesday October 13 will include breakfast, five panel conversations featuring artists, scholars, curators, cultural leaders, and community practitioners, as well as a shared lunch and afternoon refreshments. Sessions will explore themes of sovereignty, stewardship, public memory, community engagement, environmental justice, and the evolving role of cultural institutions within public life.

Throughout the convening, participants will have opportunities for dialogue, reflection, and relationship-building across disciplines, communities, and lived experiences.

Ticketing Tiers:

Access — $25

Designed specifically for students, grassroots community participants, and individuals without institutional or professional development support who would otherwise face barriers to attending. This registration tier is intended to reduce financial obstacles to participation and should be selected by those for whom the cost of general admission registration would present a hardship.

General Admission — $150

Intended for professionals, faculty, museum and cultural practitioners, organizational leaders, researchers, and attendees participating with institutional, organizational, or professional development support. This registration level reflects the true cost of participation and directly supports artist honoraria, accessibility initiatives, community access, and the broader public programming and infrastructure that make the convening possible.

Supporter — $250

For individuals and organizations able to provide additional support for the convening’s accessibility, artist participation, and community engagement goals. Supporter registrations help sustain complimentary and reduced-cost access for artists, students, culture bearers, and community participants, while strengthening the gathering's overall reach, care, and public impact.

Community Access

We are committed to ensuring this convening remains accessible and community-centered. Community members, artists, culture bearers, and unemployed or underemployed individuals are encouraged to reach out for information about additional discounted admission options. Please contact: [email protected]

Accessibility

All keynote and panel conversations will include live captioning. We are committed to supporting accessibility and equitable participation throughout the convening. For additional accessibility requests or accommodations, please contact [email protected] at least four weeks in advance of the event.

Purchase Your Ticket

Convening Schedule

Relational Futures takes place across two University of Minnesota venues: the Weisman Art Museum and Coffman Memorial Union Theater. Please note the location listed for each program as you move between sessions and activities.

Day 1 At a Glance | Monday, October 12, 2026

10 AM–5 PM | Weisman Art Museum Open

Visit the Weisman Art Museum and explore “Merciless”: Indigenous Lands Since 1776 throughout the day.

12–4:30 PM | Guided Tours of 'Merciless': Indigenous Lands Since 1776

Join the Weisman’s Student and Professional Guide team for a guided tour of “Merciless”: Indigenous Lands Since 1776. No RSVP required! Simply arrive at the front desk 5 minutes before your preferred tour time and wait for a WAM Guide to meet you. Each inquiry-based tour will explore 2–3 artworks from the Merciless exhibition through conversation, close looking, and group discussion.

Tour Times: 12–1 PM · 1:10–2:10 PM · 2:20–3:20 PM · 3:30–4:30 PM

OPEN STUDIO | Parfleche-Inspired Artmaking

Drop into Open Studio throughout the day to create your own parfleche-inspired keepsake while learning about Indigenous traditions of making rawhide containers, known as caaha in Ho-Chunk and tȟahá in Lakota. Used to carry food, medicines, supplies, and personal belongings, these functional objects also reflect the creativity, knowledge, and cultural traditions of their makers.

Activity developed by: Melanie Tallmadge Sainz
Artist & Educator, The Art of Melanie Sainz
Founding Director, Little Eagle Arts Foundation

5 PM | Check-In Begins
Coffman Theater

6 PM | Welcome

Alejandra Peña Gutiérrez
Director, Weisman Art Museum

6:10 PM | Keynote Address: A Love Letter to My Ancestors

In this keynote, Dr. heather ahtone reflects on the motivations and continuing ambitions that have guided her work to create space within museums for Indigenous people. Drawing from her career as an art historian, museum professional, and Choctaw/Chickasaw person, she considers the possibilities of working for Indigenous cultures and allowing Indigenous art, knowledge, and philosophies to serve as guiding principles.

Keynote Speaker: heather ahtone, PhD
Director of Curatorial Affairs, First Americans Museum

7–8 PM | Opening Reception
Weisman Art Museum

Gather, connect, and explore 'Merciless': Indigenous Lands Since 1776, with appetizers and refreshments from Native Harvest.

Day 2 At a Glance | Tuesday, October 13, 2026

8–9:30 AM | Registration + Breakfast
Coffman Theater

Breakfast by Native Harvest, with coffee and tea service from the UMN Campus Club available throughout the day.

9:30–10 AM | Welcome + Opening

10–11 AM | Panel 1: Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Exhibition Development
Coffman Theater

Artists featured in Merciless: Indigenous Lands Since 1776 reflect on the development of the exhibition, their artistic practices, and the Indigenous knowledge systems and methodologies that inform their work. The conversation considers how contemporary artistic practice can address the enduring impacts of colonial land policies while asserting the resilience, continuity, and sovereignty of Indigenous nations.

Speakers: Marlena Myles · Natchez Beaulieu · Missy Whiteman
Moderator: Kendra Greendeer, PhD

11:15 AM–12:15 PM | Panel 2: Food Sovereignty, Land Stewardship & Relational Care
Coffman Theater

Food systems and land-based practices are expressions of cultural knowledge, governance, and community care. This conversation explores how Indigenous foodways, seed keeping, land stewardship, and cultural practice sustain community wellbeing and ecological futures.

Speakers: Jack DesJarlait · Benjamin Shendo · Jessika Greendeer
Moderator: Jessica Garcia Fritz

12:15–1:30 PM | Lunch
Weisman Art Museum

Enjoy lunch from Native Harvest, with time to connect with fellow attendees and explore Merciless: Indigenous Lands Since 1776.

12:45–1:25 PM | Guided Walking Tour
Weisman Art Museum + UMN Campus

Join a WAM Professional Guide for a walking tour exploring connections between works in “Merciless”: Indigenous Lands Since 1776 and Dyani White Hawk’s public artwork, Through the Pursuit of Understanding Our Connectivity, We Care for Our World. Open to convening attendees and the public. Meet at the WAM front desk by 12:40 PM.

1:30–2:30 PM | Panel 3: Relational Caretaking: Water, Health & Community Wellbeing
Coffman Theater

This conversation explores how practices of water protection, public health, cultural knowledge, and Indigenous stewardship model forms of relational caretaking that extend beyond institutional walls—and what they can teach about more accountable, reciprocal, and community-centered forms of engagement.

Speakers: An Garagiola · Fern Renville · Brenda Owen, PhD
Moderator: Graci Horne

2:45–3:45 PM | Panel 4: Sovereignty in Storytelling
Coffman Theater

Cliff Fragua (Jemez Pueblo), Weisman Art Museum’s Native American Artist-in-Residence, joins Juan Lucero (Isleta Pueblo), the residency’s Guest Curator, to explore storytelling as an expression of Indigenous sovereignty. Their conversation considers the responsibilities of artists and curators in shaping narrative, carrying cultural knowledge, and creating space for Indigenous people to tell their own stories.

In Conversation: Cliff Fragua · Juan Lucero

4–5 PM | Panel 5: Practicing Sovereignty: Museums, Land & Institutional Responsibility
Coffman Theater

What does it mean for a museum to move beyond acknowledgment and toward operationalizing Indigenous sovereignty within a land-grant university?

The closing conversation examines institutional accountability and considers how Indigenous knowledge systems can shape exhibitions and interpretation as well as policy, governance, stewardship, and decision-making.

Speakers: Alejandra Peña Gutiérrez · Kendra Greendeer, PhD · Kat Hayes, PhD · Ellen Holt-Werle, MLIS
Moderator: Joseph Bauerkemper, PhD

5 PM | Closing Reception
Weisman Art Museum

Gather following the final panel for a closing reception with appetizers and refreshments.