In response to the priorities of tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators, SLIS, the iSchool at UW-Madison, Omar Poler and an advisory council of tribal cultural workers originated the idea of Culture Keepers Gatherings. The gatherings take place in tribal communities with culturally relevant, hands-on learning opportunities, including community tours, cultural events, daylong classes, and group planning sessions.
Since 2010, the iSchool has worked with tribal partners and other organizations to facilitate the Convening Culture Keepers mini-conferences and Convening Great Lakes Culture Keepers, funded respectively by the UW-Madison Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment and the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. While initially designed for Wisconsin tribal cultural workers, the gatherings grew to include Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators. After taking a break for several years, the iSchool partnered with WiLS, the Nicolet Federated Library System, and Ho-Chunk Nation to bring the gathering back to Wisconsin in 2024.
The Culture Keepers Collective, run by WiLS, has both an advisory group and a gathering planning committee.
Host locations get to share their cultural institutions including exhibits or community spaces with others.
Various interactive workshops have been held over the years to share knowledge from beading and basket weaving to disaster preparedness and response.
Classes and roundtables are held for all to engage with current topics such as grant writing, children's literature, and .
Each iteration of Culture Keepers has been unique combination of activities, workshops, and tours. Past programs have been collected into this folder.
Please reach out to tlam@ischool.wisc.edu to be added to the Culture Keepers email group for more information.
2010 Fall - Oneida Nation Cultural Heritage Department
2011 Spring - Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
2011 Fall - College of Menominee Nation
2012 Spring - Forest County Potawatomi Cultural Center
2012 Fall - Oneida Nation Cultural Heritage Department
2013 Spring - Lac du Flambeau | George W. Brown Jr. Ojibwe Museum and Cultural Center
2013 Fall - Ho-Chunk Nation House of Wellness
2014 Spring - Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways
2014 Fall - Lac du Flambeau | George W. Brown Jr. Ojibwe Museum and Cultural Center
2015 Spring - Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post
2015 Fall - Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways
2016 Spring - Forest County Potawatomi Cultural Center
2016 Fall - Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post
2017 Spring - Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University (Traveling Exhibit Planning)
2017 Fall - Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways
2018 Spring - University of Wisconsin-Madison (Traveling Exhibit Planning)
2024 Spring - Black River Falls | Ho-Chunk Nation
Refer to the map on our Partnerships page for additional information about previous host locations.