Join SPPS Indian Education Program at the July & August SPPS Board of Education meetings to share your support and thoughts about the new SPPS Smudging Policy.

A copy of the policy can be found in the Board Book for the Committee of the Board meeting on June 14, 2022.

Thank you West Great Lakes Lacrosse for creating a classroom set of traditional lacrosse sticks for the SPPS Indian Education Program. These are a great addition to the SPPS Indian Education Program Resource Room and will be available for staff to check out during the 2022-2023 school year.

“Klobuchar, Smith Secure Significant Federal Funding to Expand College Access for American Indian and Alaska Native Students

Funding will expand program at Saint Paul College designed to support academic and social success for American Indian and Alaska Native students

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) secured $500,000 in federal funding to expand a program at Saint Paul College focused on providing academic and social support to American Indian and Alaska Native students.

Specifically, the funding will help grow the Four Directions Pathway program at Saint Paul College. The program is designed to promote college access and success for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students through a culturally relevant lens. In 2020, AI/AN communities in Minnesota saw a degree attainment rate of 27.5%, a figure well below the state’s 70% attainment goal. Improving access to education for these communities will help to ensure a skilled workforce in the local economy and bolster the state’s vitality.

“All students deserve the chance to pursue higher education, but too often and for too long, Native American students have faced barriers in their transition to college,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “This funding will be critical to improving access to postsecondary education for Native American students and closing the opportunity gap that our tribal communities face.”

“This federal funding will help Native students access and excel in higher education while strengthening our local workforce – a win-win,” said Sen. Smith. “I am proud of our work to secure this funding, which will promote college access and success for Native students and help build a strong, diverse workforce in and around St. Paul.”

"We are grateful for the support of Senators Klobuchar and Smith. This congressionally-directed funding will make an immediate impact on the Four Directions Pathway initiative which is designed to aid in the success of the American Indian and indigenous communities in Minnesota by developing culturally responsive supports for students and families from high school through college,” said Deidra Peaslee, President of Saint Paul College. “We appreciate our local partners, including the Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) Indian Education Program, American Indian Family Center (AIFC), City of Saint Paul Right Track, and MIGIZI. Together, we will work to close the education gap for native students in Minnesota."

Klobuchar and Smith have been actively involved in securing this federal funding for projects benefiting communities across the state through a process called “Congressionally Directed Spending” (CDS). During the CDS process, Klobuchar and Smith have considered project proposals and advocated for funding in close coordination with leaders from across the state.

Projects are expected to receive funding over the next several months.” https://www.smith.senate.gov/klobuchar-smith-secure-significant-federal-funding-expand-college-access-american-indian-and-alaska

There is still time to join the Four Directions Pathway to Saint Paul College program.  If you are a Native youth who is graduating or have graduated within the past few years, you are eligible to participate.  We will support you to apply, prepare, and graduate by creating a circle of support around you.  Students can choose to study a trade, career program, two year degree, or four year transfer option...you choose.

Interested?  Click here for more information to get started. All are welcome.  Deadline for enrollment to Four Directions Pathway to SPC is June 10th.

This week the SPPS Indian Education Program Resource Room is highlighting Along the Journey River: A Mystery by Carole laFavor.

“Several sacred artifacts have gone missing from the Minnesota Red Earth Reservation and the suspect list is continuously growing. While it could be the racists from the bordering town, or a young man struggling with problems at home, or the county coroner and his cronies, the need for answers and apprehending the culprit is amplified when Jed Morriseau, the Tribal Chairman, is murdered. Investigating these mysterious occurrences because of tribal traditions and the honor of her family, Renee LaRoche works to track down the people responsible. But can she maintain her intense investigation as well as her new relationship with Samantha Salisbury, the visiting women’s studies professor at the white college nearby? Renee is caught between the traditions of her tribe and efforts to help her chimook lover accept their cultural differences.” https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/along-the-journey-river

This week the SPPS Indian Education Program Resource Room is highlighting The Fire by Thomas Peacock.

"An account of the Great Fire of 1918 that swept across northeastern Minnesota, including the Fond du Lac Reservation, as told by Elizabeth Gurno, tribal elder” http://www.blackbearsandblueberries.com/bookstore.html