American Indian Alumni Gathering

Mobilizing Alumni to Engage and Empower Youth

“The American Indian Alumni Gathering has its roots in youth’s call to leadership,” said Valerie Shangreaux, Blandin Foundation’s director of leadership.

In 2006, the Mille Lacs Band spear-headed the first state-wide Indian Youth Summit, which was supported by the Blandin Reservation Community Leadership Program (BRCLP) Advisory Committee and the Blandin Foundation.

Leads by Example

Fond du Lac Reservation Health Educator

By Lisa Baumann, Pine Journal, Cloquet

Editor’s Note: Nate Sandman is a 2007 BRCLP alum. This article and photo originally appeared in the Pine Journal as part of an “Our Neighbors” series. Reprinted with permission.

Nate Sandman believes in mission statements. Not only does he have one in his profession as lead health educator in the Human Services Department on the Fond du Lac Reservation, he has one for his personal life as well.

“Being an introvert, I do a lot of self-reflecting,” he explained.

He participated in two leadership programs in the past two years ­ one with the Emerging Leaders Network through the Minnesota Department of Health and one through the Blandin Foundation, where he was able to fine-tune those statements.

Alumni Profile: Leslie Harper

Keeping Culture Alive and Well

If you call Leslie Harper’s office at the Niigaane Ojibwe Language Immersion Program and the answering machine picks up, you will be asked to leave a message.  The request, however, will be in Ojibwe, not in English.

The phone-answering message in Ojibwe suggests that Leslie Harper, a 2003 BCLP alum, Cass Lake, remains true to the vision that helped launch the Niigaane Program – revitalizing the Ojibwe language and culture for both adults and children of the Leech Lake community.

Advisory Committee provides pulse on American Indian leadership issues:

The Blandin Foundation Leadership Team is working in partnership with American Indian reservation communities developing programming, identifying potential partnering opportunities and growing leadership skills.

The vehicle for the Foundation to explore leadership opportunities in American Indian communities is known as Blandin Reservation Community Leadership Program Advisory Committee.

Leadership Notes and News:

Roxanne DeLille, BCLP trainer, was selected earlier this year by Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College students, faculty and staff to receive the
2007-2008 Outstanding Educator Award.

All full-time faculty were eligible for the award. Selection was made through a balloting process that was open to all students and employees at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. To be recognized as a Board of Trustees’ Outstanding Educator, faculty members must demonstrate consistently exemplary teaching and provide evidence of their contributions to student learning.

New BRCLP alums reach out to community youth

Three Blandin Reservation Community Leadership Program attendees took their assignment very seriously when they were asked near the end of their primary training retreat last fall to take a leadership initiative back into their community.

Charissa Blue, Dinah Smith and Phyllis Littlecreek-Wilbanks decided to pick up on an idea that had long circulated, but never really got off the ground ­ creating a Boys and Girls Club for the Upper Sioux Community, located just outside of Granite Falls.

Homegrown Leadership

On its surface, Roxanne DeLille¹s life story wouldn¹t read like a textbook success story. She grew up with limited means, the oldest of 10 children in a family of mixed ethnic background, married young, became a parent soon after and even struggled with addiction in her young adult life.

While Roxanne¹s story might not be the textbook case study, it does offer an even more valuable lesson and illustrates a point she loves to make: “You never know where leadership is going to show up.”

Her life story also underscores the notion that communities can develop their own leaders with mentors who encourage and build leadership capacity as well as by fitting local talents with local leadership needs.

Blandin Reservation Community Leaders Mobilize Resources

Blandin Leadership Participants Help Create Youth/Elder Connections Mobilizing Resources defined: Engaging a critical mass to take action to achieve specific outcomes. Gaining a critical mass means getting enough people, financial resources, votes and organizations to make the project a reality.