Learn & Serve Grant
2003-2004
The Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School was awarded the Learn & Serve America grant from the Corporation for National & Community Service in the Fall of 2003. According to the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993: Service-Learning combines service to the community with student learning in a way that improves both the student and the community. Service Learning is a method whereby our K-12 students will learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service that is conducted in and meets the needs of numerous communities on the Leech Lake Reservation. It will link youth to elders as our students produce videos and voice recordings of the Ojibwe culture as told by the elders. These digital videos and recordings will be passed on to future generations so our beautiful language and culture will not be lost. Our goals are to increase knowledge of Ojibwe history and Tribal Government by 50% and to increase attendance rates to 90% over the next three years. Our end result will be a better prepared youth population with an increased awareness of:
the importance of relationships between youth and elders
being an intricate part of communities by volunteering their services to those communities
self-esteem and self-awareness
curriculum, resources and language to be passed on to future generations
increased knowledge of Ojibwe history and its links to Tribal Government
Our Community Service Learning Projects have taken off with a leap. During summer school middle school and high school students painted railings, built flower boxes, and planted flowers and trees at the Heritage Manor homes in Cass Lake. At Oak Point they cleaned the ditches while learning about recycling, and are in the process of rebuilding the Community Center sign. High school students also painted in the school and built a raised, octagon shaped, flowerbed in front of the school.
Elementary students beautified the school grounds by planting colorful petunias in front of the office and under our school signs. They also built birdhouses at the Norway Beach Naturalist Program and hung the houses along our beautiful trails for the birds to inhabit.
Students from the Inger area painted nine picnic tables and cleaned the Pow Wow grounds in preparation for the annual Pow Wow. When the students were done they went to the Round House and Steve Jackson, an elder, spoke on the history of the Round House.
Our sixth grade classes have adopted the Walker Museum. They are scanning pictures and documents to preserve them, and are creating a power point presentation. Students are hoping to promote an understanding of the Native American culture with the power point they will present to the museum. Elders will be invited into the classrooms to help the students identify people in the pictures and any events they represent.
Third and fourth graders found out how fun it is to bury a friend in leaves as they raked several elders yards in Ball Club and Winnie Dam. Elders then came to the fourth grade class and shared information about their lives when they were growing up and had lunch with the students.
Bena area students learned how to create invitations, clean ducks, bake pies, and prepare wild game for the Wild Game Feast. They cooked a bountiful feast, at the community center and served the elders, as well as taking food to the homebound elders.
We would like to extend a Chi Miigwech, big thank you, to the following participants for partnering with us to make our projects become a reality: Bemidji Wal-Mart, Leech Lake Youth Division Coordinators Shannon Robinson and Donna Cloud, Jurvelin Hardware, Clem’s Ace Hardware, Cass Lake Building Center, Local Indian Councils, and Che-Wa-Ka-E-Gon Mini Market. With everyone’s help our students are learning that they do make a difference and are important to all the local communities.
For more information, please check out the following websites:
Learn and Serve Organization
National Service Organization