Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network (Miin)

Program Opportunity Statement (Recommended 300 words or less) Ojibwe immersion education is vastly different from monolingual English education. Ojibwe immersion educators often have to develop and create their own curriculum, resources, and assessments. Monolingual English schools have access to a plethora of resources, from classroom visuals (posters) to a wide variety of published curriculum to assessments. Therefore, Miin is working to create a network of all Ojibwe immersion schools and programs to support each other. One of the ways Miin is doing this is by providing a professional development training. Many times immersion schools are connected to a monolingual English school, and they have mandatory professional development training for the teachers. However, this professional development is geared towards Western Education of monolingual English speakers. The professional development training which Miin will provide is specifically designed for Ojibwe immersion educators, and is developed with Ojibwe-centric self-determined pedagogy grounded in Ojibwe language, worldview, and spiritual lifestyle. The training will be on Ojibwe language assessments and development. All of the immersion programs have asked for help with development and use of Ojibwe language assessments. The second part of our project is to continue to nurture the community of Ojibwe immersion educators which spans from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario. This will be done by providing the opportunity for them to meet and collaborate in-person. Miin will host a begining of the school year networking event, with a keynote speaker. Thus, allowing for educators to meet and deepen their connections across the schools and communities. These connections will help to provide a support system for the school year.