Fostering Student Learning about Native Minnesota

Across Minnesota, thousands of students have benefited from projects created by educators who received grants through the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s Understand Native Minnesota campaign.

The Minneapolis Foundation, which administered the grants, distributed more than $466,000 over the past two years to 250 projects led by teachers and schools. In a myriad of ways, educators used this funding to teach accurate lessons about the contributions and experiences of Native peoples in Minnesota.

The awards were small—each educator received up to $2,000—but the lessons they supported are profound, said Jo-Anne Stately, Senior Vice President of Impact at the Minneapolis Foundation.

“The knowledge, curricula, and resources developed through these grants will continue to shape how Native American content is taught for years to come,” said Stately, who is an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and a citizen of the White Earth Nation. “It is inspiring to see the passion and energy that teachers are bringing to their classrooms as they work to share the full story of Minnesota with their students.”

This grant program coincided with the state’s rollout of new K-12 academic standards that require schools to teach students about the cultural heritage and contemporary contributions of American Indians, with particular emphasis on Minnesota’s 11 Tribal Nations.

Teachers used their grants for everything from training to curriculum development, classroom materials, and guest speakers. One group of students learned Native farming techniques by growing corn, beans, and squash in “three sisters” gardens. Another project supported a government unit for high school students, offering a deeper understanding of the historic and modern sovereignty and legal structures of Native nations and the U.S. government.

From elementary art lessons in Fridley to books for students in Ely, the grant program supported work led by educators statewide. (Photos: Courtesy of Laura Charles and Heather Cavalier)

In Eagan, Pilot Knob STEM Magnet School used its grant for a variety of resources and activities, including a schoolwide event on Indigenous People’s Day. “We are working as a building to educate ourselves, our students, and our community about the cultural significance of this land we learn on and our relationships with it and each other,” said STEM teacher Michele Link-Valenstein.

Stowe Elementary School in Duluth created a short video that offers a glimpse of the lessons supported by the grant. “We often teach about American Indian people as if they’re the people who used to live here,” said Diana Lawrey, an Ojibwe educational professional who works with the school. “It’s really important for all of us to remember that we are still here.”

Many educators seized the opportunity to purchase new books, maps, games, and other classroom resources. “I am very grateful to have more Native American resources in my classroom,” said Sharon Emerson, a teacher at Pine Point School in northwestern Minnesota. “It is so important for my students to see themselves reflected in this literary material.”

Applications were reviewed by a committee composed of staff members at the Minneapolis Foundation, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and other Native education experts. Roughly two-thirds of the grants supported projects at schools in the seven-county metro area, with the rest spread across the state. Just over 80% of the projects supported public schools, with private and charter schools receiving the balance.

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Watch this video to see how Matt Deutsch, a culinary arts teacher at Burnsville High School, used a grant to foster student learning about Indigenous food and plants.