Naytahwaush, MN

This weekend Sept 12 45 students from the University Of Minnesota will arrive on White Earth to get first hand knoledge on how we process Wild Rice and get a feel for the culture behind it.
The mini-camp is sponsered by Sahkahtay and will be attended by board members Earl Hoagland and Bill Paulson. Karl Lorenz and Craig Hassel from the U of M attending also. The mini camp will be held at the Rediscovery Center on White Earth lake and will conclude with the students serving feast food to the community of Naytahwaush during the Harvestfest Pow Wow on Saturday.
For their support and willingness to get to know our culture the group of students will be honored at the Pow Wow with a song.

As we move into August we realize how quickly the summer is going. A late spring didn’t help anything but the plants are coming along and everyone is busy. The Youth Garden Program is being done by Sahkahtay and is funded by Northwest Minnesota Foundation, NRCS, MMCDC and Sahkahtay. We have 14 openings which are 7 youth and 7 adults who participate in a day labor program three days a week and focus on cultural and social skills.
For each day the youth come participate and work they recieve 40 dollars. 10 of the 40 is put into savings that can be accessed when they graduate, get a GED, or turn 21. The Adults are paid 40 per day which is paid on a daily basis so that they may meet immidiate needs of the houshold.

Parents gathered to help show support for Principal Susan Ninham. The school board denied to renew her contract to continue her position. Ms. Ninham was the only native person in the school system to help our children.
Over 50 students walked out of school to show support in keeping her at the high school.
Mahnomen has over 60% native children yet there isn’t any cultural programs offered to our children.

Below is the Article from the Detroit Lakes Paper on-line

Mila Koumpilova, The Forum, DL-Online
Published Tuesday, April 15, 2008

MAHNOMEN, Minn. – The Mahnomen School Board fired first-year high school Principal Susan Ninham – to angry charges of racism from some 100 community members who flocked to support her at an open evaluation meeting Monday.
The meeting came on the heels of a news conference earlier this month when Ninham drew attention to several teacher complaints, mostly about how she handled conflicts with students, which she suggested might be racially motivated.
School officials countered that Ninham improperly injected race into the issue of teacher complaints, which they say strictly concern her communication and management style.
At a Monday meeting fraught with references to race, Superintendent Jon Kringen recommended that the district grant a 2008-2009 contract to Ninham, an Ojibwe who took over the high school in August. But board members raised pointed questions about her rapport with teachers, and drops in the school’s attendance and projected graduation rate.
The 5-1 vote to deny Ninham a new contract elicited a strong reaction from community members present. They argued with board members, hugged Ninham and aired stories of what they feel is persistent racial insensitivity at the high school, where almost 65 percent of students and none of the teachers are American Indian.
“Our kids are psychologically terrorized here,” said Karen Wadena, the grandmother of a student. “It’s a hidden racism.”
Ninham elected to open her evaluation to the public – the first time an employee waived the right to a closed review in Kringen’s 13 years as top administrator here and in North Dakota.
“I don’t have anything to hide,” she said before the meeting. “It’s a way for me to connect with the community.”
Several community members praised Ninham at the start of the meeting, casting her as a “strong Indian woman who’s a strong advocate for our children,” in the words of parent Lisa Brunner.
Parents spoke of a cultural gap between students and teachers at the high school, a gap that they said Ninham has worked hard to bridge.
Brunner, who has five children in the district, said Ninham had handled with finesse a complaint of racial insensitivity Brunner’s daughter made against a teacher. She brought all parties together in a constructive meeting that Brunner said spawned an ongoing communication between her and the teacher.
Residents also commended Ninham’s efforts to keep native students in school and instill pride in their heritage.
“I think her coming to the school is the best thing that ever happened here,” said Shaunee Smith, a paraprofessional at Mahnomen’s elementary school.
In Ninham’s monthly report, which she kicked off with a thank-you speech in Ojibwe to the community members gathered on her behalf, she noted academic and discipline gains under her watch. She said about 90 of the school’s 340 students earned from one to four F’s on the latest round of midterms, down from almost 150 who got from one to seven midterm F’s at the start of the school year. She also reported a significant decrease in discipline notices – a reduction she credited to teaching and trusting students to manage their own behavior.
She said she hoped to return next year and continue working with school staff.
“We have our mistakes that we made – we all do – but we’re working on correcting them and moving forward,” Ninham said.
Board members disagreed with her take on her performance. Board Chairman Jim DeVries said he had heard complaints from several staff members who described her management style as “dictatorial.” He pointed out that attendance numbers dropped over the course of the year and the high school projects its first dip below the 80-percent mark in graduation in at least six years.
Ninham defended her performance, stressing that it’s unreasonable to expect her to overhaul staff morale and student achievement in seven months.
The vote to deny Ninham a contract in the next school year set off complaints from residents that board members ignored them and threats to pull children from the school district. Community members embraced and shook hands with Ninham, who appealed for calm.
At the meeting, board members also approved about $390,000 in budget cuts and considered the possibility of switching to a single principal for the district’s two schools if one of the current positions becomes vacant.

Naytahwaush Drum and Dance is now in its 5th week. Its great
to see more families every week. We have over 30 kids who want to learn and start dancing. We are trying to raise money for beading classes, drumming, moccasin making. If you can volunteer please stop in Mondays and Thursdays we need you. The momentum is started and we hope it grows.

The seasons is not to far off. Tilling will start May 5th, 2008. So be sure to get your applications in no later than May 18th, 2008. Seeds and any help that you need will be provided. We will be starting our community garden at the old center. Everyone is welcome. We will update the information on our blog in 2 weeks. Looking forward to gardening with everyone in the community!

Every Monday & Thursday night from 6-8 PM at the Naytahwaush Community Center the Drum & Dance group meets to work on powwow regalia!  Come join us and see what the youth of our community are up to.  Parents are encouraged to come with their kids. . .

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