Sponsorship Opportunities
Make a lasting impact by supporting our work to accelerate the understanding and respect of traditional Indigenous knowledge, histories, and contemporary contributions in the Great Lakes.
Sponsor upcoming exhibits, programs, and facilities!
2026 is THE year to become a sponsor. Later this year, visitors will experience our rebranding vision come to life as we launch three new exhibitions, expand our Indigenous Foodways and native pollinator garden, and build a teaching kitchen that will allow us to host programs from seed to kitchen.
If you have any questions or are interested in customizing your sponsorship benefits package, contact Joseph Gackstetter at jgackstetter@gichigamiin.org
Programs to Sponsor
New Exhibitions
Indigenous Chicago
Opening in October 2026, Indigenous Chicago is a major exhibition developed by the Newberry Library that reframes Chicago as an enduring Native place. Through archival materials, maps, photographs, contemporary art, and storytelling, the exhibition explores over five centuries of history while centering Indigenous voices, Tribal Nations with historical ties to this land, and Chicago’s vibrant urban Native community.
The Gifts of Our World – Children’s Exhibit
Also opening in October 2026, this state-of-the-art children’s exhibit, is being created in partnership with the Kohl Children’s Museum, Sietecolores, and Menominee Tribal youth artists. The exhibit explores respect, gratitude, and reciprocity for the earth and all living things through a Great Lakes Indigenous lens and incorporates hands-on activities to celebrate Indigenous ecological knowledge in a fun, immersive environment.
What Still Grows: Indigenous Life and Land in the Great Lakes
Opening January 2027, this exhibition explores how Native communities across the Great Lakes continue to care for land and water. Through wild rice restoration, food sovereignty, forest management, harvest traditions, and community-led environmental work, it highlights the traditional ecological knowledge systems that guide this care. Visitors will move through an immersive landscape of art and stories rooted in place, revealing what continues, what adapts, what is protected, and what still grows.
Garden, Teaching Kitchen, and Foodways Programs
Mawaw Cesinyah – “Gathering Place”
Opening later this year as part of our Indigenous Garden and Foodways Initiative, the Museum is building a teaching kitchen for hands-on programs centered on Indigenous food traditions. With the garden now established, this teaching kitchen will allow us to offer programs from seed to kitchen.
Designed as a community space, it will support Indigenous chefs and food entrepreneurs in sharing regional foods, recipes, and traditional knowledge. In an urban area with limited access to land, this kitchen offers a place to sustain foodways while welcoming the public to learn through classes and meals rooted in Indigenous lifeways.
Show Your Commitment
The Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum is a majority Indigenous-led organization in its leadership, staff, and board. With full representation in place, we developed a new mission and core values to help us set a new standard for museums representing Indigenous people. Our mission is to increase the visibility and elevate Native voices through education, advocacy, and awareness while our core values prioritize Indigenous representation, Rethinking ownership, Truth-telling and accountability, and Collaborative partnerships.
By becoming a sponsor, it shows your commitment to our mission and supporting our work to share and celebrate Indigenous art, cultures, and communities. Not only do our sponsors provide us with key funding to continue our growth and outreach, but our sponsors also make a significant impact on our ability to elevate Indigenous perspectives and undo the damaging effect that centuries of misconceptions and misrepresentation has had on Native American communities today.
Contact our Director of Development, Joseph Gackstetter jgackstetter@gichigamiin.org, to personalize your sponsorship benefits.