In order to explore how early childhood Ojibwe language and culture programs could be scaled up with financial and governance support from state government agencies, Wilder Research explored the process of reclaiming Indigenous culture and language, how it is embedded into early childhood programs in Minnesota, how the state can deepen their…

This book explores tensions between "critical social justice" and what the author terms "white justice as fairness" in public commemoration of Minnesota's US-Dakota War of 1862. First, the book examines a regional "white public pedagogy" demanding "objectivity" and "balance" in…

Values, knowledges, and ways of being are the essences and cultural imperatives for tribal nation students and communities, and they sustain the tribal nations' continuance as distinct Peoples. After discussing historical and ongoing colonialist oppression, the author urges educators to form partnerships with communities to foster students'…

Minnesota's Preschool Development Birth through Five grant (PDG) is a partnership of the Minnesota departments of Education, Health, and Human Services, along with the Children's Cabinet, to align education and care systems?across the state.?The three-year, $26.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services supports…

Federal law defines English learner (EL) eligibility differently for Indigenous, compared to non-Indigenous, students, allowing for broader entry into the EL category, along with its accompanying resources and services. We interviewed EL leaders from 25 state departments of education to learn about their level of understanding of the…

In 2015, the Minnesota Legislature passed statute 135A.012 Higher Education Goal, which enacted a goal that 70% of Minnesota adults (ages 25-44) will have attained a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2025. In recognition of existing gaps in attainment, the law also sets 30% and 50% educational attainment benchmarks for all races and…

This article examines transmotion in Anishinaabeg arts, which enrich and challenge Western orientation that behold the "world in purely material terms" leading to "the objectification, secularization, and scientification of the world" (Cajete, 2000, p. 53) to refute an essentialized understanding of Indigenous peoples and their…

Ojibwemotaadidaa Omaa Gidakiiminaang (let's speak Ojibwe to one another here on our Earth) is an Ojibwe language immersion program funded by Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC, Cloquet, MN) and with grants from the State of Minnesota. With a development team that included FDLTCC President Larry Anderson, among others, participants…

Researchers and journalists have documented the challenges confronting the nation's rural communities--dwindling populations, few employment opportunities, the opioid crisis, and a lack of public investment. However, there are many rural communities that are surmounting these obstacles and helping their young people build a brighter future. The…

In an art world dominated by non-Indian curators and experts, being "Indian" was confined to an ethnographic fiction of storytellers, dancers, and medicine men attired in traditional clothing and regalia, in which the colonization of indigenous lands and peoples is left to the margins like an Edward S. Curtis portrait. These are the…

Affordable, reliable access to high speed broadband is critical to U.S. economic growth and competitiveness. Upgrading to higher-speed broadband lets consumers use the Internet in new ways, increases the productivity of American individuals and businesses, and drives innovation throughout the digital ecosystem. As this report describes, while the…

This report documents the efforts underway in 12 states and localities to tackle the enduring problem of African American, Native American, and Latino families faring worse than others being served by the child welfare systems. The publication, produced by Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) as part of the work of the Alliance for Racial…

This article presents a pilot interdisciplinary project for middle-school students including visual literacy, studio art, English-language literacy, geology and the study of indigenous groups. The location of the pilot was in the upper Midwest, along the Mississippi river bluffs of St. Paul, Minnesota. English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) students…

Wild Food Summits is a program initiated by Steve Dahlberg, the White Earth Tribal & Community College Extension director. Dahlberg began Wild Food Summits to teach people about identifying and gathering wild greens, mushrooms, and other edible plant life. The whole community comes together to cook and eat the foods. The tribal college has…

This study reports on a Native Identity Scale (NIS) adapted from an African American identity scale (Sellers et al., 1997). American Indian (AIs) and First Nations Canadian participants (N = 199) completed the NIS at powwows in the Upper Midwest. The majority of respondents were Ojibwe, but other tribal groups were represented. A principal…