The exhibition came into being through a grant from the Windrose Fund of Common Counsel Foundation. It allowed the Museum to commission Native American artists from, or connected to, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and Manitoba, Canada. This commission asked the artists to examine what it means to be a Native artist living in contemporary times, what beliefs they want to pass along, and how visual language remains alive today. The commission helps create the visual history of today, which will then become the knowable past for future generations.