The McKnight Foundation, in partnership with the Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, is dedicated to supporting culture bearers who practice sacred and healing lifeways, share intergenerational and evolving cultural art practices, and preserve ancestral knowledge. Their mission focuses on honoring, recognizing, and providing resources to individuals who carry forward their culture's traditions and teachings, particularly within ancestral cultures undergoing transition or facing external pressures.
The McKnight Culture Bearers Fellowship aims to support culture bearers in Minnesota by offering a $25,000 unrestricted award, public recognition, professional development support, and access to a network of culture bearers and resources at Indigenous Roots facilities. This fellowship is designed for individuals who actively engage in intergenerational lifeways and cultural art practices that serve to educate, share, and preserve ancestral knowledge. Fellows are also provided with stipends to honor their mentors/teachers, opportunities to participate in a community of culture bearers, access to necessary facilities and resources, and recognition at a special gathering ceremony. The disciplines supported by this fellowship include a wide range of cultural traditions and art forms, such as healing practices, storytelling, dance, craftsmanship in various mediums, language preservation, and music.