News
Babaanaajimowin

The 33rd Annual American Indian Students Awards Recognition Banquet was held April 18th, 2014 in the Beaux Arts Ball Room at Bemidji State University.
The Honors Song and Traveling Song were performed by Pipestone Drum Group, and the Pipe Ceremony was by Dennis Jones. Dr. Anton Treuer; Executive Director of the ARIC was Master of Ceremonies, and this year’s Keynote address was given by Dave Anderson, of Famous Dave’s restaurant chain.
2013-2014 scholarship award recipients were as followed:
Joe and Jan Lueken American Indian Scholarship to Kim Dickson
Red Lake Scholarship to Laurel Lussier
Ester & Alfred Instebo Scholarship to Ingrid Mesarina
Stuart Desjarlait Memorial Scholarship to James Chalmers
F. Miles and Margret Nelson Scholarship to Malissa Jones
Stan K. Medina Scholarship to Robie Rock
Jack and Marie St. Martin American Indian Scholarship to Jineane Williams
The Outstanding Student of the Year for 2012-2013 was awarded to Thomas Jones.

Giniwgiizhig, an enrolled member of White Earth Reservation and an Ojibwemowin language instructor at Bemidji State University, successfully defended his dissertation recently. He will receive his Ed. D in the field of Organization Leadership and Policy Development from the University of Minnesota. His cohort emphasis was leadership of two-year colleges and his dissertation title was An Analysis of Traditional Ojibwe Civil Chief Leadership. Giniwgiizhig interviewed hereditary Ojibwe Chiefs in Minnesota and northwestern Ontario while on his journey to achieve his higher educational goal. He expressed a love and passion for teaching the Ojibwe language and emphasized he also strongly believes in decolonization and Indigenizing education at all levels.

http://www.bemidjistate.edu/bsutoday/on-campus/2013/04/17/collection-of-early-20th-century-native-photographs-unveiled-at-airc

The 40th Annual Pow-Wow, hosted by Bemidji State University Council of Indian Students, was held on April 12-13 at BSU’s John Glas Fieldhouse. Masters of Ceremonies were Animikii and Tom Cain, the Arena Director was Darryl Northbird, the Advisor was Darrell Kingbird and the Host Drum was the T.C. Boyz. There was a wonderful turnout for this event!

American Indian students with a 3.0 or higher are encouraged to apply for the prestigious McNair Program, which will fast-track them for graduate school. The TRiO McNair Scholars Office is currently accepting applications for fall 2013. The McNair Scholars Program aims to successfully prepare scholars for entrance into graduate school. The ultimate goal of the program is for scholars to achieve a Ph.D. within ten years of graduating from Bemidji State University. The program is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Education and named after the late Ronald E. McNair who perished on the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.

The main components of the program include conducting original research under the guidance of a faculty mentor and receiving training in writing, communication and graduate school preparation. Scholars receive financial support and travel opportunities that include presenting their research at conferences, visiting their top-choice graduate school and attending cultural activities.

Please contact Kristina Cirks at kcirks@bemidjistate.edu if interested.

Bemidji State University listed in 2013 education guide for native students by SAY MAGAZINE (www.saymag.com).

Boozhoo! My name is Lara Gerhardson and I am the outreach liaison for the Minnesota Indian Scholarship Program with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

In my position with the scholarship program, I give financial aid presentations to high school students throughout the state with an emphasis on the MISP. My other primary role is as a point-of-contact for students who have been awarded the scholarship or are seeking further information on the MISP.

I am happy to have an office at the American Indian Resource Center and welcome you to drop by with any questions you may have for me or if you would like to chat. Office hours are on Thursday mornings from 9-12 and by appointment. I can be reached at: misp.lara@hotmail.com or, at 755-2557.

For more information on eligibility requirements and links to the MISP and other scholarship resources, visit our website at: www.getreadyforcollege.org/indianscholarship.

Have a great summer!

Karl Leonard is a renowned scholar of indigenous history and culture and a celebrated leader of the Maori language revitalization movement. He is traveling to Bemidji State University on a Fulbright Scholarship from New Zealand. Please check out the AIRC calendar to see dates and times of his presentations in our Indian Study & Ojibwe Language Classes.

Red Lake Tribal Chairman and Bemidji State University Alumnus Floyd “Buck” Jourdain first met Barack Obama during the President’s first campaign for President. At the Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Chairman Jourdain asked then Senator Obama, “If elected President, what is your plan to assure that tribal sovereignty, the Federal-Indian  relationship, Treaty rights, and Indian territories are protected, and upheld under your administration?” Melanie Benjamin, Mille Lacs Tribal Chairwoman (also a BSU Alumnus) and Jourdain were the only Minnesota tribal leaders in attendance at this pivotal event. With the attention of Indian country riveted on his response, Obama crafted a careful answer from which administration’s policy on Indian affairs would emerge. Obama’s answer focused on improved communication and a strengthened relationship with Indian country as well as a series of initiatives designed to strengthen native nations. And that is exactly what happened after Obama’s election. Bemidji State University is very proud to count among their alumni Red Lake Tribal Chairman Buck Jourdain, Mille Lacs Tribal Chairwoman Melanie Benjamin, and Leech Lake Tribal Chairwoman Carri Jones. Setting new directions in Indian country and shaping national policy—that is what Minnesota tribal leadership and BSU Almuni do.

Dr. Anton Treuer, Executive Director of the American Indian Resource Center at Bemidji State University, has been selected by the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas as the winner of the SSILA’s prestigious 2012 Ken Hale Prize. This prize honors the memory of renowned MIT linguist Kenneth Locke Hale (1934-2001), who worked on languages all over the world but began his career as an Americanist and continued to work on the indigenous languages of the Americas throughout his life. In granting the award, the SSILA looks for an individual or group that exemplifies Hale’s commitment to both linguistic scholarship and service to indigenous language communities. This prize is presented in recognition of outstanding community language work and a deep commitment to the documentation, maintenance, promotion, and revitalization of indigenous languages in the Americas. The prize will be awarded at the annual meeting of the Society in Boston on January 4, 2013, and includes a cash award of $500.00. The SSILA awarded the prize to Dr. Treuer in recognition of his outstanding academic and community work with the Ojibwe language.

Anton Treuer is Editor of the Oshkaabewis Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language and author of 9 books: Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask, Ojibwe in Minnesota (“Minnesota’s Best Read for 2010” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress), The Assassination of Hole in the Day (Award of Merit Winner from the American Association for State and Local History), Ezhichigeyang: Ojibwe Word List, Awesiinyensag: Dibaajimowinan Ji-gikinoo’amaageng (“Minnesota’s Best Read for 2011” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress), Living Our Language: Ojibwe Tales & Oral Histories, Aaniin Ekidong: Ojibwe Vocabulary Project, Indian Nations of North America, and Omaa Akiing. He has a B.A. from Princeton University and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

There was a nice article published in the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer which examines Ojibwe lifeways in the northwoods by AIRC Executive Director Anton Treuer. The article is archived for free and has an accompanying teacher’s guide for incorporation into classroom use.

Link: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/ojibwe/index.html

“Awesiinyensag Dibaajimowinan Ji-Gikinoo’amaageng” or “Animal Stories”. A monolingual Ojibwe childrens book was chosen by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress to represent Minnesota this year in the National Book Fesitval.

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/event/article/id/100031599/group/News/

Welcome to the new AIRC website.  This new website will allow viewers to access what is happening at the AIRC; what is happening throughout campus and throughout Indian Country as it relates to American Indian faculty, staff and students at Bemidji State University.  Each semester we will add our latest AIRC newsletter; feature an American Indian faculty, staff, student or community member; let folks know what the BSU American Indian Alumni Chapter is up to; publish our upcoming events and activities; print notices about scholarship opportunities and application deadlines; and provide links to Academic Departments (Ojibwe Language, Indian Studies, etc.) and Student Life & Development programming.

Welcome to the AIRC website and enjoy browsing around.

Don Day, Executive Director