Native American Student Success Program

                                         

Dakota star with "native american student success" in it


Native American Student Success (NASS) provides resources to all UMN Morris students within a culturally centered program fostering a sense of belonging, promoting academic success, and supporting Indigenous students’ diverse cultures, traditions, and identities. NASS offers students a home-away-from-home environment and a welcoming and supportive community that supports students from their first year of college through graduation. All students will find a welcoming environment in NASS programs where everyone benefits from greater knowledge and understanding regarding our shared histories and the people indigenous to this place.

NASS Services

Academic

  • Individualized professional academic coaching - assistance with building connections and navigating campus life.
  • Mentoring from upper class students.
  • Opportunities to enhance study skills.
  • Connections to campus resources including Peer Assisted Learning and tutoring.

Career and Financial Aid

  • On-campus job opportunities.
  • Support finding research opportunities.
  • Opportunities to work directly with One Stop staff on financial aid.
  • Financial wellness development.

Social and Cultural

  • Cultural activities and events such as beading, ribbon skirt and ribbon shirt making workshops, moccasin making workshops, and cultural food exchanges.
  • Participate in NASS Welcome - Students and families celebrate the beginning of college in a good way with a welcome and opening luncheon.
  • Culture and language workshops.
  • Community support from the Auntie and Elder-in-residence programs.

The Native American Student Success Program (NASS) is funded in part through the US Department of Education.

Federal Acknowledgment

It is the position of the US Department of Education that American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian history is not classified as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or Critical Race Theory (CRT). Native history is rooted in the unique political and legal relationship between the United States and federally recognized Tribal Nations, as set forth in the Constitution, treaties, executive orders, and court decisions.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Letter to National Indian Education Association, April 25, 2025.