Misty Blue

Misty Blue, Misty Blue, MPH, citizen of the White Earth Nation and appointed by the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) coordinated the Towards Recognition and University-Tribal Healing (TRUTH) project. She assembled a team of Native scholars who have examined the past, present, and future of Tribal-University relations since the University opened in 1851. These Tribal Research Fellows conducted place-based, tribally-based research using archival and Indigenous methodologies around a self-determined topic. Each Tribal Research Fellow presented their experience and their findings at the TRUTH Project Symposium in May 2022. The TRUTH Project Final Report was released in April 2023. Overall, the TRUTH project has begun to expose how wealth has been transferred and accumulated through the institution since 1851. As a Tribally-led research movement, we unearthed how UMN raised more wealth than most U.S. land grab universities, making a 25,000% return on investment. Per state and federal legislation, these funds must be held in perpetuity, and have been bonded out to municipalities to grow the colonizer State of Minnesota. Profit persists through land sales, mineral rights holdings, special endowments, and the appropriation and commodification of Indigenous knowledges. Misty is a Senior Strategist at Grassroots Solutions and continues to examine Tribal-University Relations.