On the Minnesota Made Gala Stage

The Minnesota Land Trust is excited and honored to welcome Dr. Anton Treuer as our featured speaker at this year’s Minnesota Made Gala. An accomplished academic, trainer, storyteller and speaker who has appeared across the United States, Canada and abroad addressing topics including “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask” (also the title of one of his books), “Cultural Competency, Racial Equity, Strategies for Addressing the ‘Achievement’ Gap,” and “Tribal Sovereignty, History, Language, and Culture.” He obtained his B.A. from Princeton University and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. 

Dr. Treuer is Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University; the author of numerous books; editor of the Oshkaabewis Native Journal (the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language); and the owner of a beautiful, Land Trust-protected property located near the Chippewa National Forest.  

The Treuer family protected their 160-acre property in Beltrami County in 1998 with a conservation easement. The protected property provides important habitat for various ecologically and culturally significant wildlife species such as the grey wolf, black bear, river otter, bald eagle, and porcupine. Over a half mile of Mississippi River shoreline is also protected under the easement. 

Land and nature stories live within each one of us. Anton will invite us to consider our sometimes-complex connections to land and history while sharing his personal story at the 2024 Minnesota Made Gala. What legacy are we leaving for future generations? And will it be enough? Don’t miss Dr. Anton Treuer—get your tickets today!

The Minnesota Land Trust is excited and honored to again welcome Sven Sundgaard as Minnesota Made Gala emcee. Sven is a meteorologist for Minnesota Public Radio and Bring Me the News, and Science Advisor to the non-profit organization, Minneapolis Foundation, which focuses on climate action and racial equity.

Combining his passion for climate science and travel, Sven is developing a climate-based travel series for which he has visited six of the seven world continents with just Antarctica remaining. During his travels, Sven has observed endangered and imperiled species like polar bears, black rhinos, orangutan, elephants, and sharks in their native habitats, trekking through the jungles of Borneo, the Amazon, the African Bush, Arctic, and diving the Great Barrier Reef.

Born and raised in the Twin Cities metro area, the effects of climate change in Minnesota are never far from Sven’s thoughts even when he’s far from home. Climate change has had a profound impact on our seasons, something Sven has witnessed first-hand over his more than 20-year local weather forecasting career. Don’t miss Sven—get your tickets today!

Minnesota Land Trust CEO Kris Larson has worked for over twenty-eight years as a professional conservationist—twenty-two at the Minnesota Land Trust, where he’s helping promote the work of land trusts to facilitate nature-based climate solutions to help combat the effects of climate change.

In 2017 Minnesota Land Trust identified eleven conservation program areas to strategically address climate change through Natural Climate Solutions, which support wetlands, forests, and prairies to increase carbon storage or avoid greenhouse gas emissions; promote natural system resiliency by defragmenting habitats and increasing biodiversity; and protect and enhance ecosystem services.

In 2022 the Minnesota Land Trust adopted a Climate Change Action Plan to further focus the existing Conservation Agenda and ensure the organization is promoting natural climate solutions at every opportunity. Don’t miss Kris—get your tickets today!