Providing a home away from home for Indigenous students while educating the community

“We're still here. We’re not going anywhere. We’re beautiful people,” is a message BearPaw Shields continuously works to broadcast.

From the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Tribes in Wolf Point, Montana, the St. Cloud State University alumna is the Indigenous learning community program coordinator for SCSU’s American Indian Center.

After spending the first chapter of her career in the construction field, Shields realized she wanted to go back to school to pursue a career in something that would make a difference and help to leave a legacy for future generations. She knew she was drawn to educate others on Native American history after time spent with her family out in nature.

“When I would hike in the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge with my kids, I would tell them, ‘One day I will have a booth there educating about Native American Indians,’” Shields said. “What I discovered is that all I did was talk about it. So that is when I decided to attend SCSU. I wanted to enhance my skills with public speaking and education.”

She enrolled with the University, and while attending started to volunteer with the Wildlife Refuge’s Fall Wildlife Festival. She helped orchestrate a Native American education and history booth, and said it’s been part of the festival ever since.

Shields worked as an administrative assistant with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and then as a cultural liaison with the Princeton School District before finishing her bachelor’s in professional communications with a minor in Native American Indian studies at SCSU.

Following her graduation in 2022, Shields started her current position with the University’s American Indian Center, where she works one-on-one with students to build relationships and help them feel supported throughout their educational journey. It’s her hope to provide for her students the safe atmosphere she searched for when considering colleges.

“The Center was a place where I would feel safe. I didn't have to worry about being judged — because growing up Native, I’ve experienced a lot of racism and biases,” she said. “The American Indian Center’s role on campus is to basically have a home away from home for our Indigenous students that's a safe place for them to come hang out — they get to hang out with other Indigenous students and build relationships.”

One of the ways the Center works to help Native students celebrate their culture is through the annual Ptanyétu Powwow — a collaborative event between SCSU, St. Cloud Technical & Community College, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, as well as the St. Cloud Area and Sartell-St. Stephen school districts. While powwows are not a traditional part of Native American history and are a more modern creation, Shields said they’re still very important.

“I would say it’s a big family gathering, like a family reunion,” she said ahead of the 2024 event. “It’s a chance for our students to — if they’ve never danced before, this is a great opportunity for them to get into the circle and start dancing. This semester we’re going to be making ribbon skirts or ribbon shirts, and that will help empower our Native students to embrace their culture and be proud of that.”

It is Shields’ hope to continue giving students confidence and to provide them with tools and skills from their time at the Center that will help them to continue to grow after graduating from St. Cloud State.

“I want to continue to foster a beautiful environment for our Indigenous students,” she said. “I do a lot of outreach outside of St. Cloud State, and having them be part of that is really rewarding to me.”

One example of the outreach Shields has helped facilitate is with the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge that first inspired her to go back to school. She joined the refuge’s board around 2019 or 2020 with the hope of educating others about the land’s history, where she recently helped organize a Native American celebration and blessing.

“What I wanted to do was — because there was no mention of Native Americans on the refuge — I wanted to bring attention to that, because that's the land where my ancestors resided,” she said. “So I joined the board, started educating, and we raised over $400,000 to create an amphitheater. They asked: if I could create a Native American design, what would it be? And I was shocked, but I was super excited.”

Shields got to work reaching out to various Indigenous artists, ultimately commissioning Dakota artist Holly Young and Anishinaabe artist Giizh Agaton Howes to work together on a design. The finished creation consisted of animals as well as tobacco leaves at the center pointing in four directions.

Shields said the celebration was “a beautiful, beautiful event,” made even better by AIC student and alumni involvement.

“A couple of our students and my cohort, Adam Wicker, who interns at KARE 11, came and was able to get a little segment aired on KARE 11. So that was beautiful — to see him use his skills and talents and what he's going to St. Cloud State for firsthand was really rewarding for me,” Shields said. “And we had Chandra Colvin, who just recently graduated mass communications, and she covered it, covered a story for Minnesota Native News. So that was really wonderful to see that as well to bring awareness and a welcoming space for all people of color.”

In sharing part of the speech she made during the amphitheater celebration, Shields said, “The amphitheater is important to me for so many reasons. If I had to choose, it would be that this art gives a beautiful representation of all Native nations within Minnesota and beyond. It shapes the reality in which Native People see themselves, and those who are not Indigenous can view us in a positive light. This will slowly dismantle the negative picture painted of us by the media and other outlets for over 100 years. It is inclusive, as it creates an environment in which collaboration can be fostered and gives a voice to all Native nations and their people within Minnesota and beyond.”

Shields hopes to pursue a master’s degree in diversity, equity and inclusion, and looks to continue educating about American Indians and tribal nations of Minnesota and across the U.S. It’s her mission that any institution that interacts with American Indians is educated on the tribes’ real history.

“My hope is that with this education it will help put an end to all the prejudices, biases and stereotypes that Native people encounter every day,” she said. “Another dream is that all national wildlife refuges within the United States bring awareness and educate about the tribal nations surrounding the refuge.

“‘Baby steps’ is what I keep telling myself.”