Heart of the Earth Survival School

Last updated
Heart of the Earth/Oh Day Aki
Address
1209 4th Street Southeast

,
55414

United States
Information
Established1972
Closed2008
School district Minneapolis Public Schools
PrincipalDr. Darlene Leiding
Staff7 (as of 2007-08) [1]
Teaching staff19.7 (FTE) (as of 2007-08) [1]
GradesK-12
Enrollment192 (as of 2007-08) [1]
Student to teacher ratio9.7 (as of 2007-08) [1]
Color(s)Red, Black, and White
Team nameEagles

Heart of the Earth School was founded in 1972 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by the American Indian Movement to serve urban Native American students as an alternative to both area public schools and federal schools provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. AIM classified it as a Native American "survival school", intending to help students take pride in their people, learn survival skills, and negotiate the difficulties of urban settings. It served students in K-12, kindergarten through twelfth grade. Initially holding classes in temporary spaces, the school received federal grants that enabled it to secure permanent space and expand its programs.

Contents

This was at a height of Native American activism, as tribes and Indian-affiliated groups worked to increase tribal sovereignty and control over their futures. AIM founded the Red School House, another survival school, in neighboring St. Paul, Minnesota in this same period. From 1999 Heart of the Earth School operated as a charter school in the Minneapolis Public School District. In 2008, the city ended its sponsorship after discovery of financial irregularities. After the former executive director was convicted of embezzlement, the school closed in 2010.

History

Students on a field trip to learn to harvest wild rice Heart of the Earth students (Minneapolis 1982) learn wild ricing.jpg
Students on a field trip to learn to harvest wild rice

Heart of the Earth Survival School was established in January 1972 [2] by members of the American Indian Movement. [3]

AIM was able to found the school because of authorization in Title VII of the Indian Education Act, adopted by Congress on June 23, 1972. [4] This act allowed Indians to have control over educating their people. Previously the federal government had administered most schools on reservations as part of treaty obligations; many of these, and also off-reservation schools, were set up as boarding schools because of the large, rural territories that most reservations occupied. The Indian boarding schools dominated federal Indian education from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries, when tens of thousands of children were attending. [4]

In 1999, Heart of the Earth/Oh Day Aki satisfied criteria to be classified as a charter school in Minneapolis Public School System. [5] [6]

Minneapolis Public Schools ended the district's sponsorship of the school in August 2008 after an audit revealed more than $160,000 in financial discrepancies. [7]

In 2010, the former executive director of the school, Joel Pourier, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of stealing more than a million dollars from the school. The school was forced to close. [8]

Campus

The school as pictured in its 1983 yearbook Heart of the Earth Survival School-Minneapolis 1982.png
The school as pictured in its 1983 yearbook

The school's location on 4th Street Southeast was located in the Dinkytown district of the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Curriculum

AIM established the "survival schools" as an alternatives to both public schools in the cities and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, offered most commonly to Indian communities on reservations. Survival schools provided language instruction in native languages, such as the Ojibwe and Lakota spoken by many tribal members in this region. Even basic courses were centered on tribal cultures. [9]

The founders of Heart of the Earth wanted to teach Indian children living in cities about disappearing traditional life skills, such as "hunting, fishing, maple syrup gathering and wild rice harvesting." They wanted to help Indian students identify with their cultures, as they had been discriminated against, with their cultures denigrated in other settings. [10]

Initially, the school provided practical jobs training for Indian students who would not pursue higher education. [9] Later, as a charter school named Oh Day Aki, the school provided a unique opportunity for Indian students to explore their cultures in a school setting, while simultaneously preparing for higher education and self-sufficiency. [11]

Extracurricular activities

Oh Day Aki Charter School's athletic teams, known as the Eagles, [12] competed in the Minnesota State High School League, Class A, Section 4. The school fielded teams in baseball, basketball, [13] cross country, softball, track, and volleyball.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Vizenor</span> American writer

Gerald Robert Vizenor is an American writer and scholar, and an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, White Earth Reservation. Vizenor also taught for many years at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was Director of Native American Studies. With more than 30 books published, Vizenor is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, and Professor of American Studies at the University of New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Indian Movement</span> United States civil rights organization

The American Indian Movement (AIM) is an American Indian grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police brutality against American Indians. AIM soon widened its focus from urban issues to many Indigenous Tribal issues that American Indian groups have faced due to settler colonialism in the Americas. These issues have included treaty rights, high rates of unemployment, the lack of American Indian subjects in education, and the preservation of Indigenous cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Lake Indian Reservation</span> Home to the federally recognized Red Lake Band of Ojibwe

The Red Lake Indian Reservation covers 1,260.3 sq mi in parts of nine counties in Minnesota, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Banks</span> Indigenous activist

Dennis Banks was a Native American activist, teacher, and author. He was a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement, which he co-founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 to represent urban Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clyde Bellecourt</span> Native American civil rights activist (1936–2022)

Clyde Howard Bellecourt was a Native American civil rights organizer. His Ojibwe name is Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun, which means "Thunder Before the Storm". He founded the American Indian Movement (AIM) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1968 with Dennis Banks, Eddie Benton-Banai, and George Mitchell. His elder brother, Vernon Bellecourt, was also active in the movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leech Lake Indian Reservation</span> Indian reservation located in north-central Minnesota

The Leech Lake Reservation is an Indian reservation located in the north-central Minnesota counties of Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. The reservation forms the land base for the federally recognized Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, one of six bands comprising the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, organized in 1934. The Leech Lake Reservation has the second highest population of any reservation in Minnesota with White Earth Nation being the largest Minnesota Ojibwe tribe, Leech Lake Nation has a resident population of 11,388 indicated by the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe</span>

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, also known as the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians or the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is an Ojibwe band located in Minnesota and one of six making up the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The band had 9,426 enrolled tribal members as of March 2014. The band's land base is the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, which includes eleven communities aggregated into three districts, as defined in the tribal constitution,

The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) is an intergovernmental body established by the U.S. state of Minnesota to serve as a liaison between state government and the Native American tribes residing within the state's boundaries. Created by the Minnesota Legislature, MIAC aims to improve relationships, facilitate dialogue, and address issues of mutual concern between the State of Minnesota and the tribal governments. The council plays a critical role in advising on policy, advocating for indigenous rights, and promoting cultural understanding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation</span> Indian Reservation in Montana, United States

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation is the federally recognized Northern Cheyenne tribe. Located in southeastern Montana, the reservation is approximately 690 square miles (1,800 km2) in size and home to approximately 6,000 Cheyenne people. The tribal and government headquarters are located in Lame Deer, also the home of the annual Northern Cheyenne pow wow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate</span>

The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, formerly Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe/Dakota Nation, is a federally recognized tribe comprising two bands and two subdivisions of the Isanti or Santee Dakota people. They are on the Lake Traverse Reservation in northeast South Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bureau of Indian Education</span> United States government agency

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), headquartered in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C., and formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. It is responsible for the line direction and management of all BIE education functions, including the formation of policies and procedures, the supervision of all program activities, and the approval of the expenditure of funds appropriated for BIE education functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Earth</span> Residential area in Minneapolis

Little Earth is a residential housing area in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States that is home to nearly 1,500 people, many of whom are American Indian. The residential housing association at Little Earth considers itself a united people of 39 different American Indian tribes, but the area is not an urban reservation, a common mischaracterization. Little Earth is located in the Phillips community of Minneapolis. While being a notable district, it is not one of the officially designated neighborhoods in the city.

<i>Dodging Bullets—Stories from Survivors of Historical Trauma</i> American film

Dodging Bullets—Stories from Survivors of Historical Trauma is a documentary film on historical trauma in Indian country, co-directed by Kathy Broere (Blackfeet), Sarah Edstrom, Jonathan Thunder, and Bob Trench, and produced by Larry Long with soundtrack by Keith Secola. The film focuses on historical events and how they inter-generationally affect the Indigenous population in North America today. It premiered at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival where it was awarded "Best of Fest" and was awarded The Samuel Sprynczynatyk Storyteller Award: Best Documentary Feature at the North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival. Filmed across the lands of the Plains Indians, which is now known as Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Montana, the film recalls first-hand storytelling that reflects how past generations were deeply impacted by mass trauma and how that trauma influences Indigenous peoples of the Americas today. The film ends on a positive path to healing through ceremony and cultural identity.

Walt Pourier is an American skateboarder, artist, designer, and skateboarding activist. Pourier is Oglala Lakota.

Metro Deaf School (MDS) is a birth–12+ free charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota that serves Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind students throughout the Twin Cities. Its mission is to promote academic excellence and social wellbeing for Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard-of-Hearing students using an ASL/English bilingual approach.

Circle of Nations Wahpeton Indian School, formerly Wahpeton Indian School, is a tribally-controlled grade 4-8 school in Wahpeton, North Dakota.

Crazy Horse School is a tribally-controlled K-12 school in Wanblee, South Dakota. It is affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). It is within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Fond du Lac Ojibwe School is a K–12 tribal school in Cloquet, Minnesota. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa operates the school and owns the facilities.

Nay Ah Shing School, also known as Mille Lacs Band K-12 Schools, is a K-12 tribal school system headquartered in unincorporated Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, with an Onamia postal address. It is affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). It is on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation.

Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School is a K-12 tribal school in unincorporated Cass County, Minnesota, near Bena. It is affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Located on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, it serves the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. It is nicknamed the "Bug School".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "District Detail for Heart of the Earth Charter". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  2. "Heart of Indian school beats strongly". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 1992-03-09. There were no desks, pencils or paper when the school for American Indians opened with two children in January of that year...
  3. Ross, Jenna (2009-06-01). "Minneapolis charter school director allegedly embezzled $1.38 million". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Archived from the original on 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  4. 1 2 Glogower, Ari. "The Indian Education Act of 1972" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-11-15.[ dead link ]
  5. "School revival is at the heart of test success". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 1999-05-01.
  6. "Editorial: Indian school closure holds lessons". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 2008-08-13. Archived from the original on 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  7. Relerford, Patrice (2008-08-12). "Minneapolis cuts ties to Heart of the Earth charter school". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  8. "Pourier sentenced to 10 years in jail for stealing from school". KARE 11, Minneapolis-St. Paul. Aug 31, 2010. Retrieved Aug 26, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Fardelmann, Charlotte (1983-03-17). "Survival Schools Rescue Indian Students, Culture". Christian Science Monitor.
  10. Norrell, Brenda. "Gentle Rage: Clyde Bellecourt remembers the birth of the American Indian Movement" . Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  11. "Oh Day Aki (Heart of the Earth) Charter School". Center for School Change. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  12. Nelson, Tim (2008-08-08). "American Indian charter school faces closure". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  13. "After 16 years, basketball arrives at Heart of the Earth". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 1988-01-21. Until this season the Heart of the Earth, an all-American Indian school in southeast Minneapolis with an enrollment of 75, didn't field athletic teams.

Further reading