As predicted, I had a fantastic time in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Thanks to my friend and former colleague Liz for being a great host and accompanying me on a tour of Paisley Park, thanks to the Oral History Association for putting on a great little conference and bringing Staunton and Alice Lynd to speak, and thanks to the Twin Cities for just being so cool. I know I should have expected as much from the metropolis that somehow produced (among many, many others) Prince, Dillinger Four, and Mitch Hedberg.

It’s going to take me some time to go through all the photos, sift through all of the links to other great oral history projects in the pipeline, and write anything substantive about the conference and my time up there. But, I’m grateful I decided to go and present this year.  I learned valuable new interviewing techniques, as well as a diverse set of recently uncovered histories including that of the Anoka State Hospital, the cultural landscape of 20th Street in Saskatoon (short documentary here), Denver’s legendary Band Box Record label, the NoDak* press (documentary here), and an enticing program to help keep everything in order, the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS).

Nina Cole, a ska DJ and drummer from Los Angeles (working on her dissertation at Davis) presents on the LA trad ska scene.

Staunton and Alice Lynd, the veritable faces of the American anti-war movement in the 20th century, speak to their oral history work.

The best decision I made all weekend, however, was joining a guided tour of the American Indian cultural corridor on Franklin Avenue. Just in time for Indigenous People’s Day on October 9th, we walked through North America’s strongest urban concentration of native american (in this case, Ojibwe and Dakota/Lakota) life. Our guides, Alan Gross and Tom LaBlanc, did not mince words when it came to the States’ and cops’ perpetually horrid treatment of indigenous Americans, which was as refreshingly honest as it was cringe-inducing.

Robert Lilligren talks about the work that NACDI has been doing over the years in Minneapolis.

Alan Gross discusses the mural in the background, which illustrates the Ojibwe origin story.

Tom LaBlanc begins the walking tour of Franklin Ave.

Also, bonus respect is due to Adrienne Cain’s meticulous use of Prince GIFs in the OHA twitter account and inspiring me to do the same above (but I’ll probably tone it down in the coming entries, though…maybe).

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this somewhat brief update, and if you’re from the OHA, feel free to pass this along via email, social media, or even word of mouth. Here are some extra pictures from around Minneapolis, St. Paul, and their outskirts this weekend. I can’t wait for my next excuse to go back. Next time, I’ll actually remember to bring some of the Ben Irving postcards, too.

The legendary Schmitt Music mural, right around the corner from the conference. Here is a WCCO story with a bit of background: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/03/30/finding-minnesota-the-mystery-musical-mural/ Here is a photo of a young Prince in front of it: https://www.schmittmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/prince.jpg

I really miss Fall.

Downtown Minneapolis.

Photos were (thankfully) prohibited inside of Paisley Park, but I “got ta, got ta, got ta” snap this on the way in.

Downtown St. Paul.

The fog slowly lifts over downtown Minneapolis on Saturday morning.

LINER NOTES

* I’ve never been to North Dakota (outside of passing through it on a train trip in 2013), but I picked up this shortened term for it in 2011 from a MPLS friend who grew up there, and it stuck with me. NoDak/SoDak. You’re welcome.