BSU to House New Institute for Indigenous Education & Practice

On Monday, Bemidji State University announced that it would be the site for a new Institute for Indigenous Education & Practice.

The institute is being supported by a two-year, $600,000 grant from the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and will operate out of BSU’s American Indian Resource Center. The institute will aim to create digital resources for Minnesota State faculty and staff, support campus-specific plans to support Indigenous students, and explore strategies to give more financial support to Indigenous students.

The announcement was followed by a presentation by Dr. John Gonzalez that suggested ways for BSU to lead American Indian education in a positive direction.

“It’s going to allow us to become a resource, not only for folks here at Bemidji, at BSU, but also in terms of supporting students while they’re here at BSU, taking those resources to allow us to be able to identify what is working best to help Native students be successful when they come to BSU and then sharing that information with the rest of the system here in Minn State,” said Dr. Gonzalez.

The grant funding from Minnesota State will support staffing and resources for the AIRC, with BSU planing to pursue addition grant funding.