Nawayee Center School

With over 44 years of experience serving thousands of students, we believe it is the school’s great challenge and honor to take in the children who have been abandoned by other systems and work with them to find the resources for a fresh start. Support for our students with such great needs that range from diabetes/medical screenings, trouble-shooting attendance issues because of family issues related to drugs, alcohol, abuse and homelessness, to navigating post graduation planning. 

Your gift will not only help us meet those needs but it will also help enable us to prepare for our future and work toward a safer and more secure space to continue our programming at full capacity.

Nawayee Center School began as a drop-in center for at-risk native youth in the Phillips neighborhood and in 1974 became an educational institution serving grades 7-12 as a contract alternative school within the Minneapolis Public School system.  

Our mission is to provide a transformative education, grounded in indigenous life-ways and a love of learning. The school enrolls, re-engages and graduates Native American youth. Most Nawayee students are disconnected from both education and from employment when they come to our door. Creating our own school curriculum and taking control over education offers us a rare chance to develop education systems that honor Native history, culture, and teaching practices and provide a shelter from the systemic de-culturalization of our children.

Center School and its students are grateful for the investment in the hundreds of students that have walked through its doors over the past year from our community and donors like you!