MINNEAPOLIS — Red Lake Nation College (RLNC) aims to fill a void in the Twin Cities — offering higher education grounded in Ojibwe language and culture to Native American students.
"I guess I'm proud. Full of joy. It's amazing to have a space like this, especially for Natives," said Eliza Washington, currently enrolled at RLNC and also an employee of the college.
Washington, an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, lives in Minneapolis and has been taking classes at RLNC online and in person. But next school year will be her first fully utilizing all the spaces on the Minneapolis campus.
"I'm so proud of our tribe and our tribal leaders in doing this. For being the first tribal college to be located in an urban setting in the U.S. And the reason why we're the first is it's really hard to do," said Dan King, RLNC president.
According to Minnesota Compass, about 44% of the state's American Indian population lives in the Twin Cities. Yet there was not a tribal college in the area.
King said 80% of students are first generation college students; over 73% of staff/faculty are Native.
The accredited two-year tribal college's main campus is located on the shores of Red Lake in Northern Minnesota. Distance learning has been offered to Minneapolis students since 2021. The new Minneapolis location is at 900 S 3rd Street, across from U.S. Bank Stadium.
"There's a lot of difficult things going on in the world. But when they come into this space, we want it to be a cocoon of safety for our students where they have some place to go, and learn, and be proud of their history," King said.
"I just felt seen in the curriculum and I felt represented in my education as an Indigenous person," said Summer May, a recent RLNC graduate who now works for the school.
The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a pathway to four-year universities and beyond.
May plans on attending Augsburg University to study environmental studies with a minor in American Indian studies.
"The entire goal in all of that is to bring the knowledge that I learned back to my community," May said.
RLNC offers only grants, no loans. According to King, nearly all students graduate with zero debt.
Construction of the $16.2 million facility started last April.
Looking out to the crowd, May said, "Coming here has felt like finding a piece of home in such a big city."
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