The History and Legacy of the Indian Residential School at the University of Minnesota Morris

January 10 at 7pm LWV ABC is honored to host Janet Ericson, Acting Chancellor of the University of Minnesota Morris and Jennifer Smith, Director of Indian Education for Minneapolis Public Schools.  

 Dr. Ericson will introduce the background of the Indian Residential schools that operated at Morris and the challenges with learning more about them, including locating any unmarked burials, if they exist. She will  summarize what has been learned from various partners in this work over the last few years.  UMN Morris alumni, Jennifer Simon, who is Director of Indian Education for Minneapolis Public Schools and serves on the UMN Morris American Indian Advisory Committee, will then speak on the “Impact & Trauma of Boarding Schools on Our Youth Today." 

From the University of Minnesota Morris website: We recognize that "The social, emotional, spiritual, and cultural devastation from boarding school experiences have passed down to Native American individuals, families, communities and Tribal Nations today." 

Click here to join the meeting on January 10 at 7pm

Janet Ericson, Acting Chancellor, University of Minnesota Morris

Jennifer Simon, Director of Indian Education for Minneapolis Public Schools

​The University of Minnesota has named Janet Schrunk Ericksen as acting chancellor for the Morris campus.
Ericksen has most recently served as vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for the Morris campus. She assumed the role of acting chancellor on July 1, 2021. 

Ericksen began her career at UMN Morris in 1998 as an assistant professor of English. Since then she has held a variety of administrative roles, including director of the Honors Program, chair of the Division of the Humanities, and interim chair of the Division of the Social Sciences. Ericksen was named vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean in 2020. Additionally, she has been an active participant in University of Minnesota governance, including as a University Senator and two terms as a member of the Faculty Consultative Committee.

Ericksen is a member of the University of Minnesota Academy of Distinguished Teachers, a recipient of the University of Minnesota Morris Alumni Association Teaching Award, and the author of Reading Old English Biblical Poetry (U Toronto Press 2020).

  Jennifer Simon (Mnicoujou Lakota) is an enrolled citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.  She was raised on her home reservation with her large extended family and tight community.  She moved to Minnesota for college and attended University of Minnesota Morris and later Minnesota State University where she earned a masters degree.   While attending college, Jennifer worked as a student worker and graduate assistant in UMM Minority Student Program and MSU’s Institutional Diversity programs that led to her ongoing work in higher education equity, most recently at Augsburg University that moved her and her family to the metro area in 2007. 

​In fall of 2019, she made the decision to continue her commitment and passion of equity and working within her community with a move from higher ed to Prek-12 public education as the Director of American Indian Education with Minneapolis Public Schools.  Jennifer is also an adjunct faculty member of Augsburg University and as a former athlete she continues coaching and mentoring young athletes on the side.  Jennifer and her family, including what she sees as her greatest joy in life, her son, Isaiah and her daughter, Mariah, reside in Brooklyn Park.

For further information:
​https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2016/06/sad-legacy-american-indian-boarding-schools-minnesota-and-us/ 

​https://www.minnpost.com/national/2021/07/federal-government-looks-to-address-the-legacy-of-indian-boarding-schools-including-in-minnesota/

​https://morris.umn.edu/morris-boarding-schools

​https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/the-history-of-minnesotas-native-american-boarding-schools/89-78048d07-1af1-475f-bf15-0a47fc59bfe6

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/10/26/a-reckoning-monastic-order-apologizes-for-native-boarding-school

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/06/22/us-official-to-address-legacy-of-indigenous-boarding-schools​