Twenty-Nine Native Americans to Graduate From University of Minnesota With Help of Shakopee Mdewakanton Scholarships

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) joined the University of Minnesota to celebrate the graduation of this year’s 29 SMSC Endowed Scholarship program recipients on April 25. They were the sixth graduating class of students who have received this SMSC scholarship, representing 21 tribes from across the United States.

This scholarship program is designed to recruit and retain talented American Indian students at the undergraduate and graduate levels who demonstrate a financial need. Students from any University of Minnesota campus are eligible, with this year’s graduates coming from the Duluth, Twin Cities, Morris, and Rochester campuses. Their majors ranged from master of business administration and American Indian studies to journalism and psychology, among others.

One of the speakers at the celebration was Carla Big Bear, a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, who will graduate in May with a master’s degree in tribal administration and governance from the University of Minnesota Duluth. “The SMSC Scholarship program let me focus more on learning than on how I was going to pay for it. This scholarship is making a tremendous impact on many people in Minnesota and across the U.S.,” she said, adding that she plans to work in Washington D.C. Law school may also be in her future.

The graduates who attended the celebration were honored with a star quilt from the SMSC. An honor song followed, as graduates were congratulated by friends and family. Both SMSC Vice-Chairman Keith B. Anderson and University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler expressed congratulatory remarks toward the graduates.

“The SMSC endowed scholarship is here to ensure that deserving students like you have the chance to overcome financial hurdles and become the next generation of leaders in your communities,” said Anderson.

Nearly 200 Native American students have received the SMSC Endowed Scholarship in the past seven years. The program was established through a $2.5 million gift from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in 2009. The University of Minnesota matches the interest earned on this endowment fund with proceeds dedicated to providing scholarships for qualified American Indian students.

Recipients of the 2015-2016 SMSC Endowed Scholarship will be announced this fall. The application deadline has passed.

Back row (left to right): University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler and his wife Karen; Lucas Bratvold, Red Lake Band of Chippewa; Bill Rudnicki, SMSC Tribal Administrator ; Michelle Haskins, Lac Courte Oreilles; Benjamin Rosaasen, Upper Sioux Community; Keith Anderson, SMSC Vice-Chairman; Rebecca Stratton, representative of the SMSC Scholarship Selection Committee

Front row (left to right): Veronica Kingbird, Red Lake Band of Chippewa; Kateri Naumann-Peters, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate; Ella Robertson, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Lake Traverse; Teresa Peterson, Upper Sioux Community/Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe; Carla Big Bear, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe; Darian Ziegler, Lower Brule Sioux