December 23, 2021

Since our announcement on 12/16/2021 of the finalists for the Future River Call for Augmented Reality Projects we have learned of concerns about the call’s process and lack of care around our definitions of the terms Native and Indigenous.  

In the call we used the language “Native artists or artist teams with significant Indigenous creative leadership” to describe who would be eligible to apply. We did not define these terms, creating confusion and uncertainty for some of our stakeholders. This is a mistake for which we apologize. 

At Northern Lights.mn we aim to support Native artists and Indigenous artists and to honor the diverse Native and Indigenous communities here. Our call was intended to be open to these broad identities. 

We take concerns from Native community members very seriously. We have decided that the best way forward is to pause this project and reevaluate how to move forward.  All of the finalists have been notified of this decision. We will hire a Native consultant to think carefully through all the issues around Native identity and place that have been brought forward. 

More information will be posted in the coming weeks. We wish everyone peace and light.