Resources

Family Resources

  • The Circle: The Circle is published monthly by The Circle Corporation, and has been publishing since 1980. The Circle is dedicated to presenting news from a Native American perspective, while granting an equal opportunity to community voices.

  • Native American Community Development Institute - Twin Cities: NACDI is committed to transforming the American Indian community to effectively respond to 21st century opportunities. NACDI works to promote innovative community development strategies that strengthen the overall sustainability and well-being of American Indian people and communities.
  • Minneapolis American Indian Center: The Minneapolis American Indian Center is a community center in the heart of the Indian community of Minneapolis.
  • Tiwahe Foundation: The Tiwahe Foundation is a resource for giving and strengthens American Indian communities by building capacity through leadership, culture, values and visions.  
  • Tiwaha Family Empowerment Program:  The Family Empowerment Program is a grant-making project of the Tiwahe Foundation, which awards grants to individuals working to be of service to their community, connected to their culture, and to have their potential realized.
  • ​​​​National Congress of American Indians: NCAI was established in 1944 in response to the termination and assimilation policies the US government forced upon tribal governments in contradiction of their treaty rights and status as sovereign nations. To this day, protecting these inherent and legal rights remains the primary focus of NCAI.

  • Birchbark Books: Birchbark Books is operated by a spirited collection of people who believe in the power of good writing, the beauty of handmade art, the strength of Native culture, and the importance of small and intimate bookstores.
  • Minnesota Indian Gaming Association: The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) was established in 1987 to help member tribes exchange information, address shared concerns, and educate the public, media and elected officials on tribal gaming and other issues of importance to tribal governments.
  • US Department of the Interior - Indian Affairs: Indian Affairs (IA) is the oldest bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. Established in 1824, IA currently provides services (directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts) to approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. There are 566 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives in the United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is responsible for the administration and management of 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface minerals estates held in trust by the United States for American Indian, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives. Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) provides education services to approximately 42,000 Indian students.
Educator Resources

American Indian OIC: Local south Minneapolis alternative school offering education programs including career coaching, adult education, trainings and more. 

 

  • Native Art, Native Voices:  A Resource for K-12 Learners: From the Minneapolis Institute of Art This resource, done in collaboration with MN Native artists, includes information Native cultures both past and present and supports MN state standards for visual arts and social studies/history. 
     
  • Intersecting Ojibwe Art Curriculum: Grades K-8. The lessons have been written, taught, and critiqued by elementary teachers of many cultures, including American Indians.
     
  • North St. Paul Indian Education Curriculum: Drum and Dance and Science lesson plans specific to the Ojibwe and Dakota.
     
  • All My Relations Arts: All My Relations Arts honors and strengthens relationships between contemporary American Indian artists and the living influence of preceding generations, between artists and audiences of all ethnic backgrounds, and between art and the vitality of the American Indian Cultural Corridor.
     
  • Minnesota Department of Indian Education: The Minnesota Office of Indian Education provides K-12 curriculum resources, information, support and oversight to public school staff, parents and students in the area of Indian Education.
     
  • National Museum of the American Indian: A wonderful collection of historical and contemporary art.  Some educator ideas and lesson plans too.
     
  • Minnesota Humanities Center: Absent Narratives Resource Collection - Ready to use materials created and developed by the MHC and its partners.  Checkmark American Indian under "Content Themes" to view all American Indian related materials and lesson plans.
     
  • Montana Office of Public Instruction's Indian Education For All: K-12 Lesson Plans: Montana's Indian Education For All offers lesson plans for classroom use  that address topics such as cultural diversity, geography, history and more. The curriculum was designed to develop all students' understanding of American Indian people and their histories, as well as fostering respect for their respective cultures.
     
  • Indian Land Tenure Curriculum - Lessons of Our Land: Lessons of Our Land is designed to make it easy for Pre-K through Grade 12 teachers to incorporate Native American stories, lessons and games into regular classroom instruction. This interdisciplinary Indian land curriculum was designed to align with existing state standards and is adaptable to include the history and culture of a region’s Indian nations.
     
  • Ojibwe: Waasa-Inaabidaa “We look in all Directions”: "We Look In All Directions" is a six-part historical documentary series for public television featuring the history and culture of the Anishinaabe-Ojibwe people of the Great Lakes.

  • Truth and Healing Curriculum:  The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition has developed a curriculum on U.S. Indian Boarding Schools for teachers to use in the classroom. 

  • Cobell Scholarship Program for academic year 2024-25. The application is currently open and closes March 31, 2024.
     
  • Cobell Scholarship Vocational: The Cobell Scholarship Vocational Opportunity is for any student who has not yet earned a college degree, is enrolled or will be enrolling in a vocational credential, vocational certificate or occupational license program.
     
  • AIGC Turtle Map: This resource provides scholarship information to encourage and promote postsecondary education for Native students, to promote networking opportunities for Native Americans, and to raise awareness and appreciation for the contributions made by Native Americans to our society.
     
  • AISES American Indian Science and Engineering Society Scholarships: The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) helps students move forward in their educational journeys by providing a wide range of programs and scholarship opportunities. AISES scholarships help students acquire skills and training that will help them meet the unique STEM needs of our communities. We highly encourage you to apply for all the scholarships you are eligible for! To apply, you must be an AISES member. Application is open and closes April, 30th, 2024.
     
     
  • Ethel Curry American Indian Leadership Scholarship: The Ethel Curry Scholarship is available to American Indian students who are attending a Minnesota Institution of Higher Education at the junior, senior or graduate level. Applications must be submitted March 1 - May 31. 
     

  • Minnesota Indian Scholarship: Minnesota Indian Scholarship Program provides postsecondary financial assistance to eligible Minnesota resident students who are of one-fourth or more Indian ancestry and demonstrate financial need for an award. 
    Priority deadline is July 1st.

    In order to qualify for this scholarship, you must...

    • be one-fourth or more American Indian ancestry;
    • be a Minnesota resident;
    • be enrolled in an accredited college, university or vocational school in Minnesota; and
    • qualify for either a Pell or State Grant. 
  • Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community  Endowed Scholarship: The SMSC scholarship program supports incoming University of Minnesota first-year and transfer students with demonstrated financial need. Scholarships may also be awarded to newly-admitted graduate and professional students in specific disciplines. Application is open and closes on March 11, 2024 at 11:59 pm.
     
  • National Indian Education Association - Scholarship Opportunities: NIEA works to ensure that every Native student knows about funding opportunities to help them succeed in their academic career. 
     
  • Normandale Community College: Scholarship opportunities for New Normandale Students
     
  • Scholarship.com: Scholarship list specific to American Indian students. Other scholarships can be searched as well. 
     
  • Indians Into Medicine (INMED): The INMED Program at the University of North Dakota is ranked first in the nation for graduating American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) physicians. 
     
  • Indian Health Service (IHS) Scholarship Program: The IHS Scholarship Program provides qualified American Indian and Alaska Native health professions students an opportunity to establish an educational foundation for each stage of your pre-professional careers

  • Bdote Memory Map: Through the Bdote Memory Map, you can find out more about some of the most important sites in Dakota history from the Dakota people and share with others your own experience of these special places. 
     
  • Dakota Conflict 1862 - Minnesota Historical Society: This interactive website tells stories of the war, its causes and its aftermath through oral histories, photos, journals, letters, newspapers, government documents and other primary sources from the Minnesota Historical Society’s collections. 
     
  • In The Footsteps of Little Crow: No longer available online through Star Tribune; available for purchase for $2.99. This Star Tribune series showcases the significance of 1862 with a historical narrative, as told through the story of Little Crow, a Dakota chief who, at times reluctantly, led the 1862 rebellion. Story by Curt Brown. 
     
  • Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Commission: Formed in 1984, GLFWC represents eleven Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan who reserved hunting, fishing and gathering rights in the 1837, 1842, and 1854 Treaties with the United States government.
     
  • National Indian Education Association: This section is intended as a resource for educators to learn about effective strategies, innovative programming, and professional learning opportunities aligned with creating a safe, successful and supportive learning environment.
     
  • Native Artists: Livelihoods, Resources, Space, Gifts: Documents the economic and cultural contributions of Native artists using Minnesota’s Ojibwe artists as a case study.
     
  • NMAI - American Indian Responses to Environmental Changes - Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe: Watch videos, explore activities and answer questions to learn more about the challenges facing the Leech Lake Ojibwe.
     
  • Native Words, Native Warriors: Offers various resources and lesson plans on American Indian Code Talkers as well as information on Native languages, boarding schools, code talking, survival, coming home, and recognition.
     
  • THE WAYS: Great Lakes Native Culture and Language: This online educational resource for 6-12 grade students features videos, interactive maps, and digital media exploring contemporary Native culture and language.
     
  • We Shall Remain: A five-part television series (PBS) that shows how Native peoples valiantly resisted expulsion from their lands and fought the extinction of their culture -- from the Wampanoags of New England in the 1600s who used their alliance with the English to weaken rival tribes, to the bold new leaders of the 1970s who harnessed the momentum of the civil rights movement to forge a pan-Indian identity.
     
  • Why Treaties Matter: A companion to Why Treaties Matter, an exhibit of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, this website presents information on relationships that shaped some of the most transformative events in the history of the continent: the U.S. treaties with Dakota and Ojibwe people.
     
  • We R Native: We R Native is a multimedia health resource for Native teens and young adults, run by the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.

  • American Indians in Children's Literature: The content of the website is designed to help people develop a critical stance when evaluating American Indians in children’s books. This means recognizing negative and positive stereotypes, both of which stand in the way of seeing and accepting American Indians as people of the present day.
     
  • American Indian Library Association: A membership action group that addresses the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives. 
     
  • Native Reader Blog: This blog features a variety of useful resources to help develop lesson plans in regard to Native American literature, including evaluating images of Native children in books, evaluating Native websites, recommended Native children's books, as well as current information on Minnesota Language Arts Standards and how they relate to Native American literature.
     
  • Birchbark Books: Birchbark Books is operated by a spirited collection of people who believe in the power of good writing, the beauty of handmade art, the strength of Native culture, and the importance of small and intimate bookstores.
     
  • The Circle: The Circle is published monthly by The Circle Corporation, and has been publishing since 1980. The Circle is dedicated to presenting news from a Native American perspective, while granting an equal opportunity to community voices.

National Museum of the American Indian

  • MN Indian Affairs Council: Provides an overview of the 11 American Indian Ojibwe and Dakota tribes of Minnesota.
  • US Department of the Interior - Indian Affairs: Indian Affairs (IA) is the oldest bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. Established in 1824, IA currently provides services (directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts) to approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. There are 566 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives in the United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is responsible for the administration and management of 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface minerals estates held in trust by the United States for American Indian, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives. Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) provides education services to approximately 42,000 Indian students.