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A look at Minnesota's crumbling tribal schools

Secretary of the Interior tours school
Maintenance worker Benjamin Bowstring and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell discuss roof drainage issues at the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school on Aug. 19. The leaking roof is one of many problems at the school. Jewell hopes to get federal money to pay for a new building.
John Enger/MPR News

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It would take $1.3 billion to renovate all the federally-administered schools on tribal lands that need repair, according to the Department of the Interior.

In Minnesota, students and teachers at schools like Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shing in Bena, Minn. on the Leech Lake Reservation deal with cold classrooms, leaky roofs and the other effects of neglected facilities.

On The Daily Circuit, we look at the issue across the state, focused on a series of stories on the Star Tribune editorial page highlighting the poor condition of the state's Native American schools. Jill Burcum, Star Tribune editorial writer, and Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shing school Superintendent Crystal Redgrave join the conversation.