Dec. 21—BEMIDJI — TrekNorth Junior and Senior High School
has long sought to recognize and honor Indigenous culture through its programming, but this year’s efforts prove a bit more official.
A dedicated American Indian Education Coordinator at the helm for the first time in the school’s history, Leech Lake Band member Samantha Fairbanks credits her past experiences in social work and art for her interest in the position once she could hit “apply.”
“Once I saw the listing, I was just like ‘Oh, that sounds stable,'” she said lightheartedly. “I was already familiar with Indian Education, so seeing the job description that TrekNorth had posted, I knew I could do that, as well.”
Legislation passed in 2023 states that any district or participating school that conducts American Indian education programs must employ one or more full-time or part-time dedicated coordinators in a district with 100 or more state-identified American Indian students enrolled in the district.
Additionally, a participating district or school must provide American Indian culture and language classes if at least 5% of students are American Indian students or if 100 or more students are identified as American Indian.
TrekNorth’s current Native American population clocks in at roughly 57% of the student body with 21% residing in towns located on tribal nation land. Such stats would necessitate Fairbanks’ hiring as the role was previously taken on by staff with other responsibilities.
“It would always be the assistant principal or principal that would have that role. The law changed so that it had to be a designated person,” TrekNorth Director Erica Harmsen said. “You can no longer have (the coordinator) also teach or have an administrative role, which is why we have Samantha.”
Through Fairbanks’ role, a smattering of activities seek to encourage interconnectedness and cultural awareness among the entire student body. Fairbanks noted a cultural significance of art that is present in much of the programming.
“A lot of what I do is based through art, and through art, we can bring a lot of culture to the school because our art forms have culture entwined into them,” she said. “They bring a lot of different teachings.”
One such activity is monthly paint nights, which each recognize one of the seven Grandfather Teachings: wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility and truth. Paint nights are open to all families and have proven quite popular.
“We’ll have anywhere from 30 to 50 people come to a family paint night,” Fairbanks noted. “It’s a big ordeal.”
Every other week provides three after-school chances to complete cultural activities with crafts being reserved for Tuesdays, drum and dance on Wednesdays and other activities on Thursdays.
TrekNorth students Giada Goodwin and Karina Guardipee frequent the craft nights and have enjoyed learning different techniques related to beading for a variety of projects — namely ornaments and earrings.
Student Donald Kingbird-Tejohn persisted in his efforts to bring the drum and dance activity to the school considering his involvement with drum groups and powwows. Bringing this to others has allowed him to share his knowledge with his peers as well as learn more about his own culture.
“It feels good to learn different styles of singing because there’s southern and northern styles that are different,” Kingbird-Tejohn detailed. “They’re unique in their own way.”
Alongside bi-weekly programming, Fairbanks advises the Native Youth Council which plans events aimed to represent the student body. The group most recently hosted a holiday craft fair fundraiser on Dec. 14.
“They make sure that we’re doing what the students want,” Fairbanks said. “If the students want cultural activities or if they want family nights, we can definitely do those through the Native Youth Council.”
Parents also maintain involvement with TrekNorth’s programming through the American Indian Parent Advisory Committee.
“The parents will let us know what they want to see here for their students, and we try our best to bring that to TrekNorth,” Fairbanks added. “That is how we started our culture and language classes in the 2021 school year.”
Moving into the future, Fairbanks and Harmsen hope to increase involvement in the Native Youth Council and continue programming that addresses key goals related to American Indian Education set forth by the
Minnesota Department of Education.
“The program is really meant to support American Indian families through academics, attendance and college readiness,” Harmsen said. “Everything that Samantha has created this year is in support of that.”
The impacts of TrekNorth’s programming extend to staff, students and families alike, an aspect that Kingbird-Tejohn appreciates.
“It’s a way to express our culture, to express who we are and learn more about the culture,” he left off. “It took seven generations to be taken away, and it’ll take seven generations to bring it back to the people.”