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MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Creating an annual National Indian Education Association (NIEA) scholarship has been a long-time goal for NIEA leadership. This year, in honor of fifty years of Native education advocacy, NIEA is launching the Dr. David Beaulieu Legacy Scholarship at the 50^th Annual NIEA Convention and Trade Show, Oct. 8^th to Oct. 12^th. Beaulieu is being honored with the scholarship in his name to celebrate his lifetime of work, service, and dedication for Native education. With an initial goal of raising $50,000, NIEA will conduct both a raffle of beautiful donated Native American blankets, art, jewelry and more as well as a text-to-give campaign to raise funds for the scholarship during the 50^th NIEA Convention Gala on Oct. 10.

The Dr. David Beaulieu Legacy Scholarship will support Native college students entering their junior or senior year who are pursuing a major in education, policy, political science, or public administration. Additionally, the scholarship will support NIEA’s legislative and programmatic fellow positions in Washington, DC.

Beaulieu, an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe-White Earth Band, served on the NIEA Board of Directors from 2003 to 2006 and served as the NIEA Board of Directors President in 2005. Beaulieu served as Director of the Office of Indian Education, U.S. Department of Education from 1997 to 2001 and is a former Commissioner of Human Rights for the State of Minnesota. Currently, he is the Ruth Myers endowed Chair of American Indian Education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and an Emeritus Professor of education policy studies at Arizona State University.

With a lead gift of $10,000, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) is the first official scholarship donor. The SMSC—the largest philanthropic benefactor for Indian Country nationally and one of the largest charitable givers in Minnesota—donated funding to establish the scholarship and to recognize Beaulieu’s contributions to the field of education. NIEA is deeply honored to be a recipient of SMSC’s generosity.

The Annual NIEA Convention & Trade Show brings together more than 2,000 Native educators, advocates, researchers, school officials, and tribal leaders to discuss ways to advance educational opportunities for Native students. Registration for the Convention is available onsite at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Visit NIEA at www.niea.org.

CONTACT
Geneva Hamilton, geneva@niea.org 

SOURCE National Indian Education Association

Related Links

http://www.niea.org