Opening Reception: A Moment in Time: Portraits of the Meskwaki at the Turn of the 21st Century

Overview

Opening Celebration: Thursday, October 8, 5:30-7:30 PM. At 6:00 PM, music will be performed by Romeo Buffalo and remarks given by Meswaki Historical Preservation Director Johnathan Buffalo, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Tieranny Keahna, and photographer Robert Campagna.

Join the Grinnell Area Arts Council to celebrate the first comprehensive exhibition of 1999 portraits of Meskwaki Nation members, photographed by Mt. Vernon-based photographer Robert Campagna, to Stewart Gallery in the Grinnell Arts Center. Meskwaki Nation Historic Preservation Director Johnathan Buffalo initiated this collection to serve as a testament to the continued presence, community, and cultural vitality of the Meskwaki people nearly a century after a 1905 photo documentation project, which was undertaken with the common assumption at the time that Indigenous populations would disappear.

Exhibit Dates: October 1-November 7, 2026 Open Hours: 11:00 am-5:00 pm Tuesdays-Fridays, 10:00 am-12:00 pm Saturdays Admission is free.

This exhibition is a collaboration between the Meskwaki Historic Preservation Department, photographer Robert Campagna, and the Grinnell Area Arts Council. It was made possible by the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa (Meskwaki Nation), Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation Racial Equity Fund, Grinnell College Center for Prairie Studies, and the Grinnell Area Arts Council.

Address & Contact

For more information, contact:

• Grinnell Area Arts Council
• (641) 236-3203
• info@grinnellarts.org