University of Minnesota and Shakopee Tribe Announce 2018-2019 Scholarship Recipients

Prior Lake, Minn. – The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) and the University of Minnesota today announced the newest class of scholarship recipients for the SMSC Endowed Scholarship program. They include 37 Native American students from 24 different tribes.

The new scholars represent:

• Twenty-one undergraduate students and sixteen graduate students

• Sixteen students at the University of Minnesota Duluth, nineteen at the Twin Cities campus, and two at the Morris campus

• A variety of majors including medicine, biochemistry, environmental sciences, architecture, human rights, and kinesiology, and the undergraduate and master’s-level tribal administration and governance programs in Duluth

The SMSC Endowed Scholarship program was established through a $2.5 million gift to the University of Minnesota from the SMSC. The SMSC donated an additional $500,000 to the scholarship program in 2017. The gift leveraged a former university matching program that doubles the impact of the gift to students. Since the program began in 2009, more than 200 students have received this scholarship. This year 69 scholarship recipients are enrolled, representing more than 40 tribal nations across the United States.

“The University of Minnesota is a very special school that tailors to my exact wishes to help other Native American people,” said Ginearosa Carboe, a scholarship recipient and member of the San Buenaventura Band of Chumash Indians. “It has given me numerous opportunities that I could never have had in California, such as the two Indigenous-based research groups I’m involved in.”

The new 2018-2019 SMSC Endowed Scholarship recipients include:

• Breanna Allen, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (MN)

• Fredrick Blaisdell, Oneida Nation of the Thames (ON)

• Joseph Bower, White Earth Nation (MN)

• Avery Burbank, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (WI)

• Ginearosa Carbone, San Buenaventura Band of Chumash Indians (CA)

• Alex Castro, Caddo Nation of Oklahoma (OK)

• Trevor Champagne, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (ND)

• Marisa Cummings, Omaha Tribe of Nebraska (NE)

• Jayme Davis, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (ND)

• Alex DuFault, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (MN)

• Anna Fairbanks, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (MN)

• Willis Ford, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (WI)

• Victoria Gokee, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (WI)

• Clay Hall, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (ND)

• Sarah Hendrickson, White Earth Nation (MN)

• Alexandera Houchin, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (MN)

• Marlene Kewanwytewa, Pueblo of Zia (NM)

• Kayla Kranitz, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (MN)

• Taylor Krone, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (MN)

• Whitney Lloyd, Alderville First Nation (ON)

• Lecia Mata, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (MN)

• Tyler Ogimaabinez Moose, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (MN)

• Virginia Morigeau, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (MT)

• George Morrison, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (WI)

• Dustin Morrow, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (WI)

• Amanda Olson, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (MN)

• Claire Pelky, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin (WI)

• Mark Pero, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (WI)

• Jesslynn Poitra, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (ND)

• Emily Roy, White Earth Nation (MN)

• Paul Soulia, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation (SD)

• Cera Swiftwater, Oglala Sioux Tribe (SD)

• Abby Tourtillott, Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohicans (WI)

• Whitney Van Wert, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (MN)

• Nerissa Welch, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation (SD)

• Janelle Whipple, Santee Sioux Nation (NE)

• Raven Ziegler, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe (SD)

The University’s Office for Equity and Diversity administers the scholarship. Native American students who have been admitted to any University of Minnesota campus are eligible to apply for the SMSC Endowed Scholarship. Scholarship applications for the 2019-2020 academic year are due March 1, 2019. Visit diversity.umn.edu/smsc for more details.

About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is a federally recognized, sovereign Native American tribe located southwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Following a Dakota tradition of generosity, the SMSC is one of the top philanthropists in Minnesota and is the largest contributor to Native American tribes and causes across the country. It is a strong community partner and a leader in protecting and restoring natural resources. The SMSC’s government, Gaming Enterprise, and various other enterprises are collectively the largest employer in Scott County and attract millions of visitors to the region.