The NISN School Design Fellowship seeks to co-develop pre-K–12 Indigenous schools over a three-year paid fellowship program. The schools are developed with Independent and Charter School frameworks in mind.
Fellows receive guidance, best practices, and mentorship from NISN staff to:
Develop community schools anchored in the four big ideas (Community-led, Academics, Holistic Wellness, Cultural Identity development);
Receive successful authorization;
Are ready to operationalize their community-led mission and vision and;
Prepared to implement their own Mission Driven Story Cycle;
A salary of $85,000 with benefits paid for by NISN for the length of participation in the three-year fellowship program.
Who is eligible?
Communities ready to establish community-led, public charter/independent school or convert their existing school from BIE to a tribally controlled school.
THE FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION IS CURRENTLY CLOSED.
CHECK BACK FOR OUR NEXT APPLICATION PERIOD!
CURRENT FELLOWS
Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes
Rain Turcotte
Ryan has lived in the Lower Sioux Indian Community for well over two decades. He is married with three daughters, one grandson and one granddaughter. Ryan is a speaker/lifelong learner of Lakol Iyapi and Dakod Iapi. Over the years, Ryan has taught Dakota language at local high schools, Cansayapi community language classes as well as co founded Cansayapi Wakanyeza Owayawa Oti( Lower Sioux Ehs/headstart Dakota immersion school) with co teacher, Vanessa Goodthunder.
C̣aƞṡayapi Lower Sioux Indian Community
Taṡuƞka Wakiƞyaƞ Watogla
(Ryan Dixon)
Oglala Lakota Nation
Vanessa Goodthunder, Sna Sna Wiƞ (Snah-Snah Weeƞ) comes from C̣aƞṡayapi (Chahƞ-shah-yah-pee), which means where they paint the trees red also known as the Lower Sioux Indian Community. She graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a Bachelor’s in U.S History and American Indian Studies-Dakota Language and has a Master’s of Educational Leadership and Administration from St. Cloud State University. Her passions are education, revitalizing the Dakota language, and working with Native youth.
Vanessa believes that language can help heal from historical trauma and has dedicated her life to learning and teaching her languages (Dakota and Dine). Vanessa has worked with the nonprofit organization called Daḳota Wic̣oḣaƞ (Dakota Way of Life) as both a youth participant and later, a language instructor supporting Dakota language curriculum development. She was the Aide to the Chief of Staff and Tribal Affairs Policy Advisor in the Office of Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith. She sits on the Lower Sioux Indian Community Education Committee. She helped open as the Director, the C̣aƞṡayapi Waḳaƞyeża Owayawa Oṭi (CWOO)- A Birth-5 Dakota Immersion School, the first Dakota Head Start in the State of Minnesota. She is currently serving as a NISN School Fellow to expand the school to grades K-4 in 2030.
C̣aƞṡayapi Lower Sioux Indian Community
Vanessa Goodthunder
Dakota (Lower Sioux Indian Community) & Diné
Mr. Merrick is a Fellow with the NACA-Inspired Schools Network and is partnering with Xine:wh-Ding to help grow the Immersion Nest into a full-time school that will serve K-8th grades.
He is Northern Cheyenne/ Dakota Sioux and has a bachelor's degree in Business Science and Administration with a concentration in management, along with completing his teaching credential from Humboldt State University. He has over 7 years of classroom teaching experience in various educational models including Indigenous, Montessori and public schools ranging from ages K-12th grade. Most recently he has taught at Hoopa Elementary School, Hoopa Valley High School and worked for the Hoopa Tribal Education Association. He is a Hupa language learner, a dedicated parent of a child from the inaugural cohort of the Hupa Language Immersion Nest and member of the parent committee.
Xine:wh-ding: Hupa Language Immersion Nest
Craig Merrick
Dakota Sioux & Northern Cheyenne
Crystal Lepscier (Wāqsepāēhketūkiw) is an enrolled member of the Little Shell Band of Chippewa Tribe of Montana. Her mother is enrolled Stockbridge-Munsee and father (kaeh nap) is enrolled Menominee, making her a direct descendant of both Wisconsin tribal communities. Crystal earned both her Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (2011) and her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio Art (2005) from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She also earned her Education Doctorate (Ed.D.) in First Nations (2022) from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Her dissertation title is: Listening for the Canaries: Addressing Racial Battle Fatigue in First Nations Students in Higher Education. Having a passion tied to education and Native students, Crystal currently serves on the governance board of the Kaehkēnawapahtāēq Charter School for Menominee Language Immersion, as a parent representative for Shawano School District Title VI Indian Education Parent Advisory Committee, as an East Region representative for Wisconsin Indian Education Association (WIEA), and as a member of the Menominee Community Engagement Workgroup for Higher Education.
Crystal and her family currently reside in Shawano, WI. She enjoys beading, cultural arts, as well as learning new things.
Menominee
Wāqsepāēhketūkiw
(Crystal Lepscier, Ed. D)
Little Shell, Menominee, & Mohican
Deborah Lyons, also known by her Menominee name Enāēmaehkūhkiw (Thunderbeing Woman), is a member of the Menominee Nation, a direct descendant of Chief Ah-Kinepoway, and a proud member of the Bear Clan. She comes from the Menominee community and carries a strong responsibility to her people, culture, and future generations.
Deborah is currently a Fellow with the NACA Inspired Schools Network. She will be finishing her MA in Indigenous Education in the spring of 2026, and following that, she will begin new graduate studies this summer at UW–Milwaukee to work toward her administrative licensure. As a first-generation college student, her work is grounded in community voice, cultural knowledge, and Indigenous ways of learning, with a focus on supporting community-led and culturally rooted education for Native students and families.
Menominee
Enāēmaehkūhkiw
(Deborah Lyons)
Menominee Nation
SCHOOL DESIGN ALUMNI
Boyna Bear, 2016
Kayla Begay, 2013
Terri Bissonette, 2018
Lucía Verónica Carmona, 2016
Tracey Cordero, 2015
Cesar Cruz, 2019
Mike Dabrieo, 2014
Tiarra Little, 2018
Kimimila Locke, 2018
Ventura Lovato, 2016
Joey Martin, 2015
Marie Sweet Martinez, 2016
Blanca Adrianna Ontiveros, 2018
Zane Rosette, 2015
Alayna Eagle Shield, 2018
Erin Shije, 2018
Leroy "Buster" Silva, 2010
Valerie Siow, 2010
Gavin Sosa, 2009
Brett Stidham, 2016
Gwen Torivio, 2015
Lane Towery, 2014
