September 17 , 2007

SMSC Continues Tradition of Supporting Indian Education

$337,500 to Ten Schools, Organizations

Prior Lake, Minnesota - Because the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is committed to helping Indian youth have a bright future, the SMSC has donated a total of $337,500 to ten schools or organizations to support Indian education.

The SMSC awarded a matching grant of $180,000 to the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) in South Dakota for school clothes for tribal children. The OST matched the grant.

A donation of $75,000 to the Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota will cover a behavior incentive program and extracurricular activities including rodeo club, culture club, basketball, volleyball, golf, and cross-country.

The SMSC donated $45,000 to the St. Paul Public Schools Indian Education Program for winter wear and school supplies, including backpacks and calculators. They have about 450 families in need who receive free or reduced lunches.

The SMSC donated $20,000 to the Minneapolis Public Schools Indian Education program for school supplies and student fees for sports and field trips. The program provides services for more than 2,000 Indian students.

Catching the Dream of Albuquerque, New Mexico, received a donation of $10,000 for scholarships to American Indian students maintaining a 3.0 grade point average or better in the subjects of math, science, engineering, business, computers, and education while maintaining a minimum of 12 credits.

A $2,000 donation went to the Minnesota American Indian Youthwork and Education Partnership to support a yearlong activity planning and implementation project. The Partnership is housed at Migizi Communications. Activities will include hiring consultants, event planning and implementation, a youth summit, writing a report with a strategic plan to address youth issues, a state-wide mapping project of youth programs and outline of resources, and establishing relationships with other state youth partnerships.

Donations of $1,000 each went to the Bloomington Public Schools Indian Education Program for a summer reading program; Winona State University for an Indigenous Language Institute; and St. Francis Indian School to purchase shoes for the girls' volleyball team.

The SMSC also donated $2,500 in gift cards to Native American students living in Scott County for school supplies or clothing on a referral basis.