Efforts to bring an Indigenous Cultural Trail to the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center may get a boost through "crowdgranting."
The trail would meander through 20 acres near the visitor's center and would "weave Indigenous cultures with the natural ecology of the Indiana Dunes." It's a partnership involving Indiana Dunes Tourism, the Miami and Potawatomi tribes, and the National Park.
The development of the trail kicked off last year, and an entrance boardwalk and bridge are set to be built this summer. Now, project organizers are turning to the public to help fund murals and limestone sculptures of native animals, a copper fire pit, colorful crosswalks and other features.
To do that, they've launched a Patronicity fundraiser as part of the state's CreatINg Places program. If they raise $50,000 from the public by May 16, they'll get a matching grant from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.
Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch oversees the IHCDA. In a statement, she called the campaign "the essence of the CreatINg Places initiative, blending the respect of the past with a vision for the future.”
