Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter Schoolyard

In Northwest Minnesota about 160 miles from the Canadian border, Red Lake Nation encompasses beautiful forests, wetlands, grasslands, and freshwater lakes. Trust for Public Land has previously partnered with the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians to protect the landscapes that are important to their heritage and culture, and we’re honored to expand our partnership to Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter Schoolyard through our Minnesota Community Schoolyards® program.

Endazhi-Nitaawiging is one of the first Indigenous charter schools in the state and serves as a cultural hub for their community. They are a land-based immersion school grounded in Ojibwe language, culture, values, and healing practices. The school is focused on immersing their youth in Ojibwe language and culture in the classroom, providing holistic healing and mental health services after school hours, and hosting family and community culture events.

Currently, the school serves about 150 students, teachers, and staff and about 90% of students identify as Native American. It also abuts Red Lake Elementary which serves over 500 students. As Endazhi-Nitaawiging continues to expand, they need green space that allows them to implement their vision for outdoor spaces that support their land-based education curriculum and celebrates their cultural traditions, knowledge, and ways of being.

They’re partnering with Trust for Public Land to transform their schoolyard into a culturally grounded community space with walking trails and medicinal plants, a garden, and more. This schoolyard will be our first Tribal Community Schoolyards project in Minnesota and builds upon our growing partnerships with tribal and Indigenous communities across the country.

Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).