Sept. 15 – SUTTONS BAY – Students across the state will have access to enhanced educational resources related to Michigan’s Native American history, thanks to funding from the Native American Heritage Fund.
The NAHF announced Friday that more than $484,000 has been distributed to Suttons Bay Public Schools and nine other K-12 districts, colleges and universities in Michigan.
Schools were given funding to improve curriculum and educational resources related to tribal history or to fund initiatives that improve community relations, such as replacing offensive or inaccurate mascots and images of Native Americans.
The three largest grants announced on Friday were intended to finance the rebranding process.
This year, Camden Frontier School in Hillsdale County will receive $105,061 to change the name of their mascot to the RedHawks and Canton High School in Wayne County will receive $145,894 to rename itself the Cobras.
Port Huron is receiving $86,052 this year, in addition to the $162,943 they received last year, to continue their work in rebranding their school mascots. The mascots for Port Huron High, Roosevelt Elementary and Michigamme Elementary are now the “Redhawks”, “Little Redhawks” and the “Cardinals”.
Suttons Bay will use the money to “further develop its cultural curriculum,” according to a press release from NAHF. The district has won the award twice before, in 2018 and 2020.
The $12,500 grant in 2018 helped fund Friendship Community Center/LIFT Teen Center, a local after-school program where 70% of the teens they serve are Native American, to expand their hours and create new programming. The $20,000 grant they received in 2020 went toward creating a nation-based education curriculum.
Since 2018, many local schools have received funding from the NAHF, including Suttons Bay, Petoskey, Traverse City Area, and Northport public schools.
A 2016 amendment to the Tribal-State Gaming Compact between the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP) and the state of Michigan allowed for the creation of the NAHF, with a balance of $500,000. Each year, a portion of the state revenue-sharing payment is deposited into the NAHF to replace the amount used and bring the balance back to $500,000.
The NAHF board, which consists of two members appointed by the governor, two members appointed by the NHBP Tribal Council, and the director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, determines who gets money.
Kathryn DePauw writes about indigenous issues in collaboration with Report for America.
