Stories From The Road: Nis’to and Creative Healing Space
By Activate Rural Program Director Sarina Otaibi and Associate Director Courtney Bergey Swanson
Thursday, July 23, 2026:
With our Activate Rural team living in Minnesota, we were excited to get out of our home offices for a daytrip across the South Dakota border to Sisseton (population 2,670). We were greeted with a home-cooked meal (and cookie dough ice cream for dessert!) at Christopherson Corner, a large mixed use building in downtown Sisseton where partners are working together to reimagine the historic space.
Nis’to, a Native-led cultural organization founded and directed by Dustina Gill, is working with the owners of Christopherson Corner, John and Mary Christopherson, to support artist exhibitions, community events, and creative small businesses within the building.
This symbol unites Dakota and Scandinavian imagery in a geometric 8-point design.
In a story on Sisseton from our friends at Arts Midwest, Nicholas describes the design: “To the Dakota people, it is a star, a symbol of hope and guidance. To the Norwegians, it is a rose, commonly seen on thick hand-knit sweaters, giving the early settlers a comfort of home.”
During our visit we were joined by artist-in-residence Markus Tracy, who has been working with Sisseton for years through grants from the South Dakota Arts Council. We were also joined by Nicholas Blaske, who serves as Executive Director for both the Sisseton Area Chamber of Commerce Director and Economic Development Corporation. Nicholas is also an artist, and created the community’s emblem that can be found on flower planters, public art, and flags throughout the town.
The last census showed Sisseton’s population as 48% Native American and 39% White, with growing Asian and Latino populations as well. The city’s multicultural, rural identity is proudly on display and is woven through the work that the Activate Rural Learning Lab team is doing.
John and Mary Christopherson, both veterans who met while serving in the military, raised their family in Sisseton and are now seeing their grandchildren grow up in the community too (one especially sweet baby granddaughter joined us on our tour). Years ago they decided to invest in their community and purchase several large, historic buildings downtown.
They operate an event space called Soiree 417 where they host everything from live music to fantasy football drafts, as well as rent the space to community members looking for a place to host a celebration. A partnership with Nis’to created even more momentum for the renovation and activation of the spaces, which they imagine as a multi-use community hub where folks can experience art, fitness, and community resources.
After we finished touring all the nooks and crannies of Christopherson Corner, we continued our tour throughout downtown. We were delighted with surprising sights and stories of artists at work! Turning the corner down an unassuming alleyway, we were greeted by an outdoor gallery wall featuring work by local and visiting artists. The team shared their efforts to re-activate the former movie theater with historic photos and video. We walked across the community garden, admiring the bounty of vegetables and the adjacent community mural. There were public art sculptures on street corners and in the round-a-bouts.
The entire community, it seemed, was a canvas for artwork.
After touring Christopherson Corner and downtown Sisseton, we drove a few miles out of town to land owned by Nis’to. We were grateful to be visiting during the height of summer so we could experience the bucolic landscape and abundant plant life. Dustina showed us around the earth lodge, the kitchen they’re in the process of building, a lacrosse field, and the medicinal garden, explaining the rich variety of educational and cultural programming they hold on the grounds.
Before saying our goodbyes, we traveled to a nearby historical interpretive center to see an exhibition of quilts, beadwork, weaving, and other media reflecting the diverse heritage of local artists. The exhibition was fittingly called "Common Threads of America” (you can see more images of the work by clicking the link!)
Learn more about Nis’to and the ARLL team’s work at Christopherson Corner.
Thursday, August 20, 2026:
We arrived at Creative Healing Space in the heart of downtown, and team members Suree, Layketa (not pictured), Leah, and Marlen showed us around.
Our first Minnesota site visit came as a daytrip to visit Creative Healing Space in Worthington (population 13,780). The community, located in the southwestern corner of the state about three hours southwest of the Twin Cities, is statistically one of the most diverse cities in Minnesota. Like Sisseton, a majority of Worthington’s population identifies as a person of color.
Downtown Worthington is a picturesque place, with historic buildings and Okabena Lake shimmering from just a few blocks away. We strolled through their downtown district and got a thorough tour of the space they are currently leasing. They showed us their treasure trove of art supplies (perhaps one of the most well-organized collections we’ve ever seen!) and the areas of the building that are used for public community art-making activities and exhibitions, as well as more private spaces that are used for counseling and mental health services.
Creative Healing Space was founded in 2019 by Suree Sompamitwong with a mission to create a safe, welcoming space where everyone can express themselves, build community, and experience the healing power of creativity.
Suree is an advocate for both mental healthcare and creative expression, and personally experienced the benefits of using art as a tool for healing. With so many immigrant families in Worthington, she knew it was essential to create a “community living room” where people could share their stories, process experiences through art-making, celebrate their diverse cultural practices, and connect with neighbors who understood.
During our building tour we were asked to add to Creative Healing Space’s wall of uplifting messages (there wasn’t much room left!) and spent time enjoying the exhibition by local artists that was currently on view.
We were also lucky to be part of an event at Creative Healing Space the evening of our visit…
…which meant we got to see the space filled (standing room only!) with community members. We also got to see the team members in action, caring for their community and making everyone feel welcome and seen.
To learn more about Creative Healing Space, check out their website and see their events on Facebook. They do offer virtual art therapy programming online every Tuesday evening at 7pm CST, so no matter where you are in the world, you’re invited to join!
Thank you to our hosts and partners for taking the time to show us your beloved places.
Department of Public Transformation (DoPT) believes in working with artists, cultural workers, and connectors to strengthen rural places by supporting the role of community assets—social, cultural, and built—as a lens to help communities investigate and celebrate their collective story: past, present, and future. Activate Rural supports third places, creative space use, and building activation projects—art galleries and cultural centers, creative coffee shops and taprooms, theaters, artist studios, performance and event venues, multi-use creative places, and more—that inspire, motivate, and open up possibilities for rural communities.
