Resource Directory Community Engagement Process

The goal with the Resource Directory throughout the project has been to make a sustainable, easy-to-use directory that fills a much needed gap in the community. We wanted to engage the Indigenous community immediately and throughout the process.

Our first community engagement tactic was to host two sessions for community members to have open discussion about what they would like to see in a resource directory. We hosted lunch and dinner on January 29th, 2024 at the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center. We greatly valued this input, as it helped answer some questions and allowed us to focus on what community-specific needs the Resource Directory needed address. Concurrently, we had a survey available online that asked the same questions we asked our community members who came to the in-person sessions. You can read the themes and feedback we heard here.

During the creation phase of the Resource Directory, we identified the need for beta testing. With such an anticipated wide range of users, from youth to Elders, and from community members to those looking to understand the Native community better, we needed it to be simple to use for everyone. We reached out to previous members of the community engagement sessions, as well as others identified as likely users of the database (community partners or market vendors, for example). Folks were asked to navigate the site and provide feedback on how to make it more understandable, simple to use, and if they had any recommendations. Each beta tester was compensated.

From there, NACDI worked with our development partner, St.Paul Media, to finish up the site and get it ready for Phase 1 launch. We are incredibly proud of the resulting product, and look forward to seeing how it grows. Miigwech, pidamaya, pinagigi, gracias, and thank you for all of the support from our local community members and partners for helping us make this project a reality.