A Conversation on Indigenous Healing and Joy in an Urban Indigenous Landscape

Minneapolis-Saint Paul is home to over 35,000 Indigenous people (Minneapolis American Indian Center, n.d.). This is due in part to the Indian Relocation Act of 1956, a federal policy that coerced Indigenous peoples to move to cities with the goal of assimilating us into society so the government could acquire Tribal lands. However, Indigenous peoples have transformed Minneapolis-Saint Paul into a sprawling urban Indigenous landscape founded on strong sociopolitical movements (e.g., the American Indian Movement). Urban Indigenous Minneapolis-Saint Paul is clear evidence of Indigenous resistance, survivance (Vizenor, 2008), and joy. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to situate Indigenous healing within this context through a conversation with the Indigenous Joy Collective — six Indigenous healers from various organizations in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Using the Indigenist conversation approach (Wilson et al., 2022), we convened the Indigenous Joy Gathering and discussed what Indigenous joy means to us and its implications for healing in the format of a talking circle. We provide recommendations to support the collective healing and well-being of Indigenous peoples in urban settings, including the Indigenous Joy Worksheet.