Goal 1: Enhance Ways of Knowing

Through the implementation of institutional, employee and student Nisidotaading initiatives, employees and students will gain knowledge and understanding of American Indian culture, contributions and ways of knowing.

Nisidotaading — an Ojibwe word that means “mutual understanding” — lies as the heart of BSU’s and NTC’s broader diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In the Spring of 2022, BSU faculty voted to add an indigenous course graduation requirement for all students beginning with new students arriving in Fall 2024. The program was later renamed “Nisidotaading,” and then expanded to provide training offerings for employees at both BSU and NTC. Additionally, BSU and NTC serve as hosts for the Minnesota State Nisidotaading Institute (originally the Institute for Indigenous Education and Practice).

As the cornerstone for BSU’s and NTC’s diversity, equity and inclusion work, Nisidotaading elevates mutuality — specifically as connected to Indigenous history, American Indian and diverse cultures, American Indian and diverse ways of knowing, contemporary Indigenous and equity-related issues and Indigenous languages.

Leadership Action Team

Vice President for American Indian Student Success; Dean of Arts, Education and Humanities, American Indian Resource Center; Campus Human Resources Officer; Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; AIRC staff; and supporting faculty and student affairs educators.

Key Performance Indicators

• Students: Implement the Nisidotaading course requirement in Fall 2024. (Green: successful course implementation; Red: unsuccessful implementation)
• Employees: Establish targets for the proportion of employees at BSU and at NTC to complete a Nisidotaading professional development course. (Green: target achieved; Yellow: 90% of target achieved; Red: <90% of target achieved)
• Institute: Achieve deliverables from the institute proposal related to (a) network hub development (development and curation of open educational resources, professional development offerings, community of practice implementation and network formation), (b) financial capacity building for the institute and (c) financial support for American Indian students. (Green: all deliverables achieved; Yellow: sufficient deliverables achieved for renewed funding; Red: non-renewal of the institute)

Future Direction

After implementing Nisidotaading courses for students, BSU will need to develop and implement an ongoing student learning assessment and continuous improvement plan.

The future direction for the Nisidotaading Institute will depend on future grants and ongoing needs assessments. Ideally, this will involve greater connection to NTC through customized training initiatives that strength access for American Indian students.

At BSU, future planning will address support for and promotion of research and community-engaged scholarship addressing American Indian communities, Tribal sovereignty and American Indian student learning and success.

Goal 2: Campus Climate Growth

Attain measured growth in campus climate to enhance mutually beneficial engagement, sense of belonging and attainment of learning outcomes.

BSU and NTC each administered the HEDS Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey in Spring 2023. The results corroborate TOWS analysis assessments indicating intolerance in the Bemidji community and region as well as DEI-related weaknesses in campus climate. Strategies for addressing campus climate will extend from Nisidotaading principles.

Leadership Action Team

This initiative will begin with the Vice President for American Indian Student Success and DEI Committees at BSU and NTC. Current DEI committees include faculty, student affairs educators, professional staff and students. Because of the breadth of needs, this LAT will need to expand and/or utilize working teams to address more narrowly defined outcomes.

Key Performance Indicators

Analyze climate survey results to prioritize items/areas, generate campus-based action strategies and establish Green, Yellow and Red metrics for ongoing performance monitoring for (Fall 2023).

Future Direction

We expect that action strategies will address topics including physical spaces and staff support for identity-based student organizations; policies, procedures and strategies for recruiting and retaining employees to reflect the representational diversity of students; hiring strategies that ensure minimal levels of cultural competency and/or cultural humility; and ongoing professional development, among others. These will need to be focused and taken to scale in future plans.

Additionally, a number of the findings from the Campus Climate survey addressed the climate of Bemidji and the surrounding region. Future planning will need to address engagement with Bemidji and the region, something that has been requested by community leaders.