{"id":11260,"date":"2020-12-03T16:01:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T21:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/migizi-rebounding-from-double-whammy\/"},"modified":"2020-12-03T16:01:41","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T21:01:41","slug":"migizi-rebounding-from-double-whammy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/migizi-rebounding-from-double-whammy\/","title":{"rendered":"MIGIZI rebounding from double whammy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite pandemic health issues over the summer, MIGIZI students were able to attend classes, like this HVAC course offered by the Minneapolis Community & Technical College, but another recent upsurge of coronavirus has pushed all programming online.
COURTESY\/MIGIZI<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

MINNEAPOLIS \u2013 Only eight months after the grand opening of their recently renovated building, staff members at the Native youth center MIGIZI watched as fast-moving flames, spread during the May protests in Minneapolis, destroyed it. Now, staff, students and volunteers are looking ahead to another new beginning with the upcoming purchase of a different facility.<\/p>\n

The MIGIZI board approved the buy and plans to finalize in the next couple weeks, according to Kelly Drummer, president of the non-profit that offers job training, academic tutoring and cultural connection to American Indian youth.<\/p>\n

The bulk of the money for the new building came from an incredible wave of donations following the fire \u2013 more than 30,000 contributions totaling about $2 million.<\/p>\n

If the purchase and renovations of the new building go according to plan, Drummer says, they will move in next summer. While hopeful about the future for MIGIZI, Drummer said the staff\u2019s focus now is meeting the immediate needs of students, as the fire, coupled with the continued rise of Covid-19, has made 2020 an especially challenging year for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, it\u2019s been doubly difficult,\u201d echoed Michelle Olson, director of Partnerships and Operations. \u201cNobody expected the loss of a building and a pandemic to coincide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drummer said one of the biggest concerns for the staff members now is the academic well-being of their pupils. Like so many students across the world, most in Minneapolis public schools are strictly distance learning. Drummer says this has had a negative impact on the academic success of some of the MIGIZI community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just received statistics from Minneapolis Public Schools about where kids are at mid-quarter, and it\u2019s not looking good at all,\u201d Drummer said. Citing the report, she said 34 percent of Minneapolis American Indian 10th graders are on track to graduate and 52 percent are failing at least one core course. Only 27 percent of 11th graders are on track to graduate, with 41 percent failing at least one core course. According to Minneapolis Public Schools, 45 percent of American Indian seniors graduated in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we\u2019re asking ourselves, \u2018How do we support our students right now with whatever they need,\u2019\u00a0whether it\u2019s academic support, tutoring, mental health support,\u201d Drummer said. \u201cWhat is it they need to help motivate themselves to get their work done?\u201d<\/p>\n

Fostering academic success in students always has been a core part of MIGIZI\u2019s programming, Drummer said. She said while they currently don\u2019t have after-school tutoring programs running because of the pandemic, she\u2019s hoping they will be able to start that again after Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when a lot of the first-term grades transpire,\u201d Drummer said. They are hoping to have small groups rotating in over the holidays. She said her first choice would be in-person learning, but that this option is looking less feasible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last few weeks, cases of Covid-19 across Minneapolis have been exploding,\u201d said Olson. \u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to respond to that in the best and most ethical way possible, by moving our programs entirely back online for this coming week. We know that means we\u2019ll have to work harder in terms of engaging youth, but we absolutely know it\u2019s the safest thing to do for them, our staff and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she agrees the decision to physically distance is necessary, Drummer says she worries about all the ways this will affect students.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m very concerned about the health and well-being of our young people, and their ability to motivate and be engaged again,\u201d Drummer said. \u201cStudents are going further and further into their shell, and maybe are in homes that are not good learning environments, or environments in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said some students are living in two-bedroom apartments with six people, a space that can make it incredibly difficult to study.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the students we work with do not come from healthy environments,\u201d said Drummer. \u201cMIGIZI was an outlet for many of these students, who\u2019d come after school because they didn\u2019t want to go home after school. We fed them a good dinner, we got them the help they needed, someone paid attention to them, they were able to go to Ojibwe language class, or they just wanted to hang out. That I think, more than anything, is what kids are missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

These practices of relational and cultural connections, while missed, may also be the very reasons MIGIZI can play a unique role in mitigating some of the negative impacts of the coronavirus in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cMIGIZI has been in the community a long, long time, so there is some built-in trust,\u201d Olson said. \u201cPeople recognize MIGIZI is a place for American Indian youth, and so they just say \u2018yes\u2019. They will say yes even if they\u2019re unsure about all the ways they\u2019re being asked to show up in these online spaces. In the Native community, it\u2019s the long-standing relationships that mean the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s really bringing our young people to the table is the cultural piece, so that\u2019s what we\u2019ve been focusing on,\u201d said Drummer. \u201cOne of our staff members works with a teacher who went on a buffalo hunt. He wants to provide buffalo for each family. We also want to provide food baskets with traditional food.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Thanksgiving and National Day of Mourning, staff from MIGIZI and South High\u2019s All Nations program served over 100 gift baskets to their student community containing educational supplies, beading kits and food \u2013 bison included.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Contact Justine Anderson at justinekanderson@gmail.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The post MIGIZI rebounding from double whammy<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Despite pandemic health issues over the summer, MIGIZI students were able to attend classes, like this HVAC course offered by the Minneapolis Community & Technical College, but another recent upsurge of coronavirus has pushed all programming online.COURTESY\/MIGIZI MINNEAPOLIS \u2013 Only eight months after the grand opening of their recently renovated <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> December 3, 2020<\/p>\n

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