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Students at Oshki Ogimaag Charter School learn traditional ways of cooking over an open fire. Photo’s courtesy of Jean spry
Boozhoo! (Hello!)
Within Cook County, located in a small Anishinaabe community on the Grand Portage Reservation, lies Oshki Ogimaag Charter School. The K-6 school first opened in the year 2009 and has 34 students enrolled with a staff of 12. Here, students receive a complete quality education with an emphasis on Anishinaabe culture and attend a “school without walls,” utilizing both the school building for classrooms and the surrounding homeland as an extended campus.
Oshki Ogimaag Charter School was developed through a grassroots initiative which gained support from the Grand Portage Tribal Government/Community and is authorized by Osprey Wilds, today. Students at OOCS learn about the natural environment, history, and interconnectedness of all peoples, things, and beings, where the physical landscape of the Grand Portage Reservation creates a dynamic learning scenario to help do so.
The OOCS webpage explains their school vision, “To guarantee the future of Anishinaabemowin, cultural knowledge, values, and history to sustain and empower our Elders, family, and youth. Upon graduation, students will have academic competence, positive leadership skills, and social self-sufficiency. Collaboration with tribal schools worldwide will promote knowledge and respect for Indigenous worldviews and allow for meeting the ever-changing educational and social needs of the Grand Portage Community with new methodologies and innovative technological opportunities. Parents, students, teachers, and administrators become allies in education promoting student ownership of learning through empowerment and recognition of diverse learning styles.”
to ice fish was a great way to learn about nature and find out how early native Americans found enough food to eat during the long, cold northern winters.
School Administrative Assistant Jean Spy explained the 2020-2021 school year (her very first with the school) as a challenging yet prosperous school year and stated, “During the summer of 2020, the OOCS director, Carmen Keyport, and the OOCS Board of Directors decided to open the school to in person learning for students for the 2020/2021 school year. Distance learning was also an option for students. Our Director, Carmen Keyport, created the school Covid policy and guidelines after many hours of training and research. Carmen also researched and applied for grants needed for Chrome books for distance learning students, additional cleaning supplies and classroom items needed to keep the students in compliance with recommendations.”
Mrs. Spry also shared, “Our teachers and paraprofessionals worked hard at setting up the classrooms and the staff worked together to create a daily cleaning schedule to follow when the students returned. Our bus schedule was changed from one route to two routes allowing us to accommodate Covid- 19 spacing guidelines. Temperatures and masks were checked as students entered the bus. While visitors were limited, we were excited to have programs and hands on projects for the students provided by the staff of Grand Portage State Park, Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Portage Human Services, Grand Portage Trusts Lands, Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center and Tess from the SNAP Education program.” Oshki Ogimaag expressed the great level of pride the school had for its students, and for how well they handled mask wearing and hand washing throughout the school year.
During this past academic year, amid a global pandemic, OOCS was able to partake in some wonderful programs and projects. These were important to the students and very appreciated. OOCS explained, “We were also able to partner with Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center during our school year. Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center located in Finland, Minnesota. Their instructors traveled to Grand Portage on Wednesday afternoons for sessions with the 4th-6th graders. Since these activities are outside, the distance learners joined us. The topics included bird watching, insects trapping, small mammals trapping, and fisheries management. Four to six students have also harvested and processed high bush cranberries, wild rice, and set an historic fish trap at the National Monument.
This year the sugarbush operated a little differently due to COVID-19, with each classroom going up for a couple hours to work due to limits on the amount of people that could be on the bus. Each student (including distance learners) had one sap bag. In addition, all students had a daily Ojibwe language class with Anishinaabe Language Director, Erik Redix during the school year. Classes were also offered, via zoom, during the school year for parents, students and anyone else who had an interest in the Ojibwe language and Anishinaabe culture.
The end of the school year was celebrated with a Covid friendly awards program and a 6th grade graduation. There was a great level of support from both the parents and the community throughout the school year. Their community support list includes, but is not limited to, the Grand Portage RTC, Grand Portage Trust Lands, Grand Portage Health Services, SNAP Education/ Nutrition, Grand Portage Human Services, Cook County Emergency Services, Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center and local people who donated masks and cleaning supplies to our school.
The Oshki Ogimaag Charter School expressed their gratitude for a unique, yet productive academic year, with a message of, “We would not have succeeded without you!”
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