Smithsonian asks Minnesota tribes for help with new exhibit

by Tom Crann, Minnesota Public Radio

It's Kevin Gover's job to tell the story of American Indians to the world. It's a daunting task and as director of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of the American Indian, Gover knows the story he tells will carry a lot of weight.

He's just wrapped up a tour of American Indian communities in Minnesota, where he was asking for advice on how to tell difficult stories in an accurate and compelling way.

Gover wants to use Minnesota as a testing ground for a new Smithsonian exhibit about the controversial topic of treaties.

Kevin Gover joined All Things Considered host Tom Crann on the phone from the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Gover hopes to bring a new traveling exhibit about American Indian treaties to Minnesota in 2012 -- in time for the 150th anniversary of the Dakota Conflict.

Broadcast Dates

• All Things Considered, 07/26/2010, 5:50 p.m.