Nawayee Center School

Mission

Giving students a transformative education based on indigenous lifeways and a love of learning is our mission.  The school enrolls, re-engages and graduates Native American youth. When Nawayee students arrive at our door, the majority are disengaged from both their education and employment opportunities. We have a unique opportunity to create educational systems that respect Native history, culture, and teaching methods while protecting our children from the systemic de-culturalization of education by developing our own school curricula and assuming control of education.

History

Nawayee Center School began as a drop-in center for at-risk native youth in the Phillips neighborhood and, in 1974, became an educational institution serving grades 7–12 as a contract alternative school within the Minneapolis Public School system. The school is currently housed in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis in a building that hosted many of the early meetings of the American Indian Movement.

Having served thousands of students for more than 50 years, NCS considers it an honor and a great challenge to take in students who have been turned away by other educational systems and work with them to find the resources they need for a new beginning. Support for our students with needs ranging from establishing health care, securing housing, navigating post-graduation planning, as well as resolving attendance issues resulting from family issues involving drugs, alcohol, abuse, and homelessness.

How Your Contribution Helps

Through your financial contributions Center School students will continue to benefit from dynamic indigenous curriculum which seeks to cultivate and conserve language and culture of Minnesota's First Nation People. Your support will also ensure that our students are afforded resources that will lessen the digital divide and provide access to enriching opportunities within our communities and beyond. As a school we must evolve with our students and educational trends that keep our faculty and students informed and relevant. As our school community and partnerships continue to grow we remain committed to being a safe and nurturing space for our students to connect to their heritage, build community and achieve their academic goals.

Chi Miigwech! Big Thanks, for believing in our mission and supporting indigenous-centered education.

With your donations we hope to provide: 

- A dining hall  projector and retractable screen for whole school classes presentations and visiting guests/speakers.

- Hallway video monitors which will promote Ojibwe/Dakota language through student programming and the promotion of upcoming cultural and academic events

-A maker space which offers our students printmaking, 3D printing  and media arts. Our maker space would also provide an organized workspace for beading, leather work and visual arts. 

- Professional website contract.

-Travel opportunities for student leadership.

-Repair and care for our historic building.

-Commercializing our kitchen in order to provide partnerships with Native chefs and indigenous food organizations.

-Continuation of Intercontinental cultural exchange with indigenous communities.

How Your Contributions Have Helped in the Past

 Through your generosity and commitment to indigenous education, we have completed the following goals:

-Gathered and prepared poles for our new school tipi.

-Constructed a hoop house with the help of urban agriculture icon Will Allen.

-Welcomed new staff members with a focus on cultural teachings, including Art and Ojibwe language.

-Begun much needed repairs to our kitchen.

The Center School community is grateful for your contributions, investment and commitment to in Indigenous centered learning that has welcomed students from our communities for over 50 years.  With donors like you, we hope to continue the tradition for 50 more!

Miigwech!

Thank you!