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By Chenoa Yakokahslote Webster, College of Menominee Nation Teacher Education Student, Indigenous Education Studies Intern, and American Indian College Fund Ambassador
2025 Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education Grant Program

On March 1, 2025, College of Menominee Nation’s (CMN) Teacher Education Department hosted its third annual Honoring Indigenous Education Round Dance in Keshena, Wisconsin. This event brought in over 700 community members including youth and families alongside students, educators, and elders. Initiated by the teacher education students three years ago, the round dance is more than just a celebration or gathering. It is a reinforcement of our traditional ways of knowing and being. It is a true affirmation that Indigenous education is a living and breathing ceremony of shared experience and life.

Participants enjoying the Honoring Indigenous Education Round Dance.

CMN’s Meniken project, supported by the American Indian College Fund’s Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education Program, is working to enhance cultural knowledge and teaching capacities of CMN’s teacher education students. This includes programming such as the round dance, hosting monthly talking circles, and cultural workshops that promote mentorship and intergenerational learning that will be passed down to the students we teach and work with. For the teacher education students involved with the Meniken project, the round dance was an opportunity to apply and expand their learning within a living classroom, while also developing professional skills in event coordination and community engagement.

The most powerful presence at the round dance was that of our youngest learners who eagerly joined the circle. They absorbed every beat of the drum, every movement of the dances, and every lesson woven into the experience. Through the eyes of our youngest children, Indigenous education is not about sitting at a desk or memorizing facts. It is about doing, feeling, and being part of the community through hands-on and meaningful participation. At the round dance, I watched how toddlers were guided by their older siblings and how parents encouraged their little ones to take their first steps into the circle. Our youngest learners looked up to everyone with wonder, and they were filled with love as the circle expanded around them. Education happened at every moment and children were learning not just how to dance, but how to listen, how to follow, and how to take their place in the community. This is the true foundation of Indigenous education, and it starts with a sense of belonging.

The youth essay contest was a new and exciting addition to the round dance this year. Students were asked, “What does Indigenous Education mean to you?” Their answers were profound and reflected deep understandings of identity, community, and the importance of culture in learning. One child wrote, “I learn when I dance. I feel happy when I hear the drum. It makes my heart feel good, like my family is all around me.” Another expressed, “When I move to the songs, I feel like I am supposed to be here. It helps me know who I am.”

Red ribbon skirts, it’s a family affair.

These beautiful and heartfelt words show the impact of an education that is inherently rooted in cultural experience. CMN’s faculty and advisors are focused on instilling in their students that learning is not just about acquiring knowledge, but about nurturing identity, confidence, and a sense of place. Our students are being taught how to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and intellect with modern educational practices, so that all students, especially Indigenous children, experience learning that is meaningful, culturally responsive, and empowering.

Indigenous education today faces significant challenges, not to mention a long and dark history of attempts to control and erase Indigenous knowledge systems. Tribal colleges and universities like CMN often operate with limited resources, striving to provide culturally relevant education amidst systemic inequities. Events like the round dance demonstrate our communities’ commitment to revitalizing our educational practices. No policy or funding cuts can take what we pass down through our teachings, songs, and love for future generations. This moment in our history is a call to reclaim, redefine, and reconstruct our educational pathways with the knowledge and reminder that education, when rooted in our cultures and communities, is medicine.

One young writer in our essay contest captured this feeling, “When I dance, I feel strong. When I hear the drum, I feel like I belong. Indigenous education means learning with my whole heart.”

The round dance showed us a glimpse of the future, and it is filled with youth who know that they belong. Indigenous education is ceremony, and with every dance, song, and teaching shared we are continuing the cycle of planting seeds for the next generation to thrive. The foundations we build today will carry our children forward, ensuring they grow up knowing they are valued, loved, and connected to their culture, their community, and the greater world. In the steps of our youngest dancers, we see a future that is strong, proud, and full of possibility, and with their words, we understand, “When we dance, we pray. When we sing, we heal. When we learn, we remember. And that’s why Indigenous education is everything.”

Little ones are soaking up the opportunity to learn from the Round Dance drum groups.