Saint Paul Public Schools


	Multicultural Resource Center

Our Stories Project

The essence of culture is not the artifacts, but how the people of that culture interpret, use, and perceive these objects. While background information and suggested lesson plans are currently included with items that are checked out from the Center, a more powerful means of learning about an object is to hear about how it is/was used by a person of that culture. Often individuals visiting the Center, both students and adults, express excitement about a specific object we have and share their personal connection to that object.

The Our Stories Project seeks to expand access to the resources housed in the Mullticultural Resource Center (MRC) by collecting stories from individuals in the community inspired by the objects in the collection. These stories are documented via digital video and streamed on to the MRC website where teachers are able to access these rich stories and pieces of history for use in their classrooms, in conjunction with the artifacts they checked out or teach virtually, using the online images.

Through these stories, we expect that students and others that utilize these innovative resources will develop a stronger sense of their own identity and an increased understanding and appreciation for the experiences of others.

Please let us know if you, your students, or a community group you are affiliated with would like to help us by sharing your stories about objects in our collection. Please contact Jenny Eisele at jennifer.eisele@spps.org to arrange for a story session.

To view films, click on the links below:

ribbonshirt.m4v
Podcast reflecting on the significance of the ribbon shirt to Native American cultures.