'A long time coming': Red Lake unveils permanent location of its first charter school
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By Daltyn Lofstrom, The Bemidji Pioneer
Monday, Nov. 6, will go down in Red Lake Nation history as a day that students get to call the Endazhi-Nitaawiging charter school their own.
Two years after breaking ground on what would become Red Lake’s first-ever charter school, Endazhi-Nitaawiging’s founders, tribal council members and others in the community congregated at the school on Wednesday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a morning of speeches, food, music and camaraderie.
Inside the walls of the school that will serve students in grades K-8, a welcome song gave way for various stakeholders to welcome others to the site and reflect on years of work that went into its opening.
“It was over a decade ago that we started looking at other charter schools, other immersion schools and how they can operate successfully,” Tribal Secretary Samuel Strong said, “so this dream has been a long time coming.”
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The council, in collaboration with the Native American Community Academy Inspired Schools Network, set forth to build a school grounded in Ojibwe values as a way to immerse younger students in Indigenous knowledge and culture. As such, Endazhi-Nitaawiging — or “the place where it grows” — was realized.
As part of the planning stages, founding members drafted the school’s mission: “to prepare each student for college with an enhanced knowledge of the Ojibwe language, culture, leadership and environmental stewardship.”
They also crafted a vision statement, which aims to “create confident leaders grounded in their true inherent identities and to ensure that they are academically, socially and spiritually prepared to positively change the community and world.”
“This school allows us to build our children to continue to build our way of life,” Strong said. “Most importantly, it keeps our kids home, keeps our kids here learning who we are. Learning about harvesting deer and wild rice, all of our traditional activities. Learning about the drum, coming together as a people and teaching that next generation of leaders.
“These kids that you see in this school will one day be sitting in these chairs,” Strong added while gesturing to chairs reserved for tribal council members, “and they’ll be guiding us to the future.”
New beginnings
Offering its first school year for 2022-2023, Endazhi-Nitaawiging operated out of a temporary site while construction took place on the permanent location.
With the official school building hosting students starting Monday, Endazhi-Nitaawiging Executive Director Nathaniel Taylor noted the highs and lows that went into such a project.
“This school was built with the best intentions. At the same time, it’s important to remember everything that our people had to go through to get here,” Taylor said. “It’s the thunderbird and the serpent. They balance each other out like yin and yang. There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears in this process.”
Endazhi-Nitaawiging board member Sylvia Fred has worked alongside Taylor throughout the entire process. The pair met over 20 years ago and have been together through the trials and tribulations that have been thrown their way.
With the school offering a new beginning for several students, Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting presented yet another new beginning for Fred and Taylor.
Partway through Fred’s remarks, Taylor halted her to share some of Fred’s accolades.
“You guys (in the audience) will never know how much she’s done (for the school),” Taylor said. “She’s my other half, my better half. She’s the breadwinner in our relationship. We’ve been together 22 years, so I want to ask her to marry me one year from now.”
Taylor knelt down on one knee as cheering and applause reverberated throughout the school. In front of the crowd, Fred said “Yes,” with tears in her eyes and a big smile on her face.
Collecting herself and continuing with her remarks, Fred noted the upliftment and encouragement the school will offer to students.
“We have services for our kids that have been Indigenized that really cater to them,” Fred mentioned. “When our kids leave here, they’re going to leave with love in their hearts.”
Other speakers of the morning included Tribal Chairman Darrell Seki Sr., Tribal Treasurer Vernell Lussier and several school board members along with other community members.
’A beautiful feeling’
Following speeches, a drum group played an honor song as well as a song specifically for Endazhi-Nitaawiging. Attendees then enjoyed a meal of locally raised buffalo, wild rice and squash before embarking on tours of the school.
The school includes four wings dedicated to different grade levels. Arranged around a circular center, the hallways include painted murals depicting each of the four seasons. Ojibwe words and their English translations accompany each season’s painting.
Used for the morning’s speeches and lunch, the center space includes the school’s logo designed into the floor. A traditional Ojibwe creation story inspired the logo design — a turtle with a piece of earth on its back.
Attendees milled about the building, excited for the impact Endazhi-Nitaawiging will aim to make, until the grand opening came to a close.
“Everything that was once a dream came to life,” Lussier said. “I’m so happy and thankful that our children have somewhere beautiful to call their own, somewhere they can be immersed in their language and in their culture. It’s just a beautiful feeling.”
More information on the charter school can be found at redlakecharterschool.com.
