Community

Minnesota is home to the Dakota and Ojibwe people with seven Ojibwe reservations and four Dakota communities. The twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul has been one of the nations leading urban Indian Centers at the forefront of addressing a myriad of issues affecting the quality of life for urban Indian people. American Indian activism ignited in the twin cities with the founding of the American Indian Movement and the hope for change spread throughout Indian country in the late 1960’s.

It is estimated that over 30,000 American Indian people reside in the seven county metropolitan areas. There are over forty different tribal nations represented in the metro area. There are approximately seventy-five agencies that serve the social, economic, health and educational needs of American Indian people located in the metro area. In the State of Minnesota there are about 200 American Indian owned businesses. There are several American Indian culture based schools that exist in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul including the Indian Education Programs in the public school systems. Four Tribal Colleges reside in Minnesota serving their respective communities: Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College, Leech Lake Tribal College, White Earth Tribal & Community College and the Red Lake Nation College.

The Department of American Indian Studies is the co-host of the American Indian Culture House, a living and learning community for American Indian students attending their first year at the University of Minnesota. The house is located at Comstock Hall in the heart of the east bank campus and next to the Coffman Memorial Student Union. The Coordinator on campus is Jillian Rowan and she can be reached at 612-616-0733 or email at berkl002@umn.edu.

The Department of American Indian Studies beginning in 1994 provided the Minnesota Indian Affairs electronic listserv that currently has over 400 subscribers. It has been a tremendous communication tool to share news, community announcements, employment and educational opportunities for Indian communities both urban and rural.

We have nurtured many partnerships that include the Dakota and Ojibwe Language Revitalization Alliance, Minnesota History Center, Metropolitan Urban Indian Director’s, Anishinabe Academy, Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce, Grotto Foundation, American Indian Families Project and continue to work with various agencies that serve indigenous populations.

Our student organizations, the Dakota Language Society and the Ojibwe Language Society both host community language tables in the Minneapolis Indian community weekly through the academic year. The language tables have grown through the years and are being established in other communities around Minnesota.