Leech Lake Tribal College Receives $100,000 American Indian College Fund Grant to Increase Capacity for Environmental Education

Leech Lake Tribal College is pleased to announce it has been awarded $100,000 from the American Indian College Fund (AICF) Scholarly Emergence for Environmental Design and Stewardship (SEEDS) program to increase capacity to prepare students for environmental careers, and to inspire community engagement with environmental issues in the Leech Lake area. The SEEDS program at LLTC will be led by Vikki Howard, Dean of Academics and faculty member Melinda Neville.

“With this support from AICF, we can strengthen and refocus our efforts at building environmental awareness about climate change and other challenges in our communities,” said Vikki Howard. The grant will assist faculty earning their advanced degrees, integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge in STEM curricula, and redevelopment within math and forestry curricula. Additionally, the AICF grant will fund LLTC’s summer internship program, supporting students and faculty engaged in place-based environmental research.

LLTC President, Dr. Patricia Broker, says that, “The American Indian College Fund is one of the greatest supporters of Tribal Colleges. The SEEDS grant will help us meet our broad mission of serving the Leech Lake Nation as we work to develop our leadership in the area of environmental stewardship.”

To learn more about opportunities to support the Leech Lake Tribal College and its mission to provide accredited education grounded in Anishinaabe values, please contact Ryan White at (218) 335-4229 or ryan.white@lltc.edu or by visiting our website at www.lltc.edu.