Diversity Foundation of Minnesota Inc

The Diversity Foundation of Minnesota (DF) is a Non-Profit "All Volunteer" organization primarily serving Native (Dakota) Reservations across the Great Plains,  with dedicated efforts to "Right Historic Wrongs", making amends for US Govt's many historic Injustices & Intergenerational Trauma, suffered by our Original Dakota People,  who for millenia had lived & called Southern Minn. their "Ancestral Homeland" until 1851, when US Government's unscrupulous treaties, forced the Dakota to small SW Minn. prison camps (aka reservations) where further broken promises & starvation led to aftermath of the 1862 US-Dakota War, Mankato's Execution of "38 Dakota Warriors", with 1700 prisioners held outside over winter at Ft Snelling POW,  until spring 1863, when US soldiers herded 1300 Dakota survivors onto overcrowded boats & exiled to SD's Crow Creek POW & other destitute locations,  where majority Dakota descendants continue to struggle under "near 3rd World" living conditions yet today. (See "Crow Creek the Forgotten People") 

Since 1995, Diversity Foundation (DF) volunteers have been filming & documenting well over 800 Video hours Native American elders, sharing their publicly "untold" stories & little known chapters of American history.  DF has also helped facilitate, film & photograph numerous Euro-Native American Reconciliation events across Southern Minnesota (ie Mankato, Winona, Rochester, Twin Cities, Wabasha, Pipestone etc) along with filming elders & events at majority Dakota/Lakota Indian Reservations across Great Plains & Canadian Dakota Reserves.  One of DF's goals is raise funding to hire qualified media technicians & editors to help DF digitize, edit & transform these "Living History" Video recordings & over 60,000 photos, producing a series of historic/educational documentaries for a wide variety of Native & non-Native audiences (ie schools, colleges, families, media & history centers, broadcast documentaries etc ) 

Over past 2 decades, DF has been partnering with USMC "Toys For Tots" program, annually delivering "Toys & Hope" to thousands of disadvantaged Native Youth & families from Indian Reservations across N & S Dakota, Minn, Nebr & across Great Plains,  where majority these tribes have no TFT alternative.   In 2019, we were fortunate when National USMC TFT Commander designated Diversity Foundation as one of USMC's 800 National TFT Coordinators,  where DF delivered TFT to 15,000 impoverished Native Youth. This past 2020 Christmas,  DF added more Native Communities & over 18,000 Youth.  In 2021,  USMC TFT has approved DF to add TFT for Northern Minnesota's 7 Chippewa Tribes, along with our past Dakota/Lakota Communities, increasing DF's Native Communities & youth served to 26,000 this 2021 Christmas.  

Since late 1990's, DF Volunteers have organized many humanitarian relief drives, including southern Minn. Communities, Churches, Schools & Colleges, with DF helping deliver 30 + Semi loads used beds, furniture, clothes, food & other household items, to Crow Creek, Santee Sioux & other economically disadvantaged Dakota tribes..At present, DF needs funding support to help with costs delivering 4 more semi loads of used  furniture & household items, along with DF's funding goal of $20,000. to lease trucks, forklifts, storage, shipping/handling fees & other TFT transportation & volunteer costs to help deliver our TFT to approx 26,000 disadvantaged Native Youth from over 25 Native American Communities across the Great Plains.    

Also during last years 2020 Covid19 Pandemic,  South Korean President Moon Jae-In's Govt donated over million KN95 masks, shields & sanitizers to US Dept. of Veteran's Affairs & Commander Don Loudner's National American Indian Veterans (NAIV) to Express South Korean's Appreciation to the Legendary Navajo Nation's "WWII Codetalkers" (& other Tribal Codetalkers) who helped USMC defend South Korea during WWII & Korean War.  It was a Great Honor when Commander Loudner contacted myself & our DF to help organize & deliver over 100,000 Covid-19 KN95 masks to Navajo Codetalker families & our Great Plains Reservation's Military Veterans, elders & their families.  (See attached Photos)  Mr Loudner is a 88 year Korean War Veteran, who recently had a stroke & unable to drive, so DF agreed to volunteer & help Loudner's NAIV distribute Covid 19 masks to Military Veterans .  In  2020, as the Covid-19 Virus was spreading rapidly throughout Indian Country, many Native American Veterans (& families) got Covid & passed away, due to substandard & overcrowded housing, poverty & inadequate healthcare dealing with Covid Pandemic, where a shortage of KN95 Masks & shields still exists today.  Therefore additional funding needed to deliver more KN95 Masks & shields along with semi loads used furniture, Humanitarian Relief & TFT to remote Dakota & Ojibwe Reservations across the Great Plains.      

(See DF's Euro-Native American Reconciliation Programs & Native TFT photos attached below)