• Tribal Members

Tribal School and Recreation Project

In May 2013 the Tribal Council hired Bonnie Ekdahl as a Consultant Project Coordinator for the school recreation project. Although this is not a new idea it marks another phase of planning and implementation which will bring the tribal community closer to a new facility to house existing youth services. The programs include the Saginaw Chippewa Academy, Anishinabe Language Revitalization, LEAD/Parks and Recreation Program.
Shortly after coming on board a working committee was established to plan out all aspects of the school/recreation facility. The following are some of the steps the committee has taken thus far;

Vision Statement 9/5/2013

Our vision is to lead, educate and prepare our youth and families toward healthy lifestyles with a safe and nurturing environment utilizing the spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing or our Anishinabe teachings.

Working Committee List:

Purpose: To plan out all aspects of the school/recreation center facility including: operations plan, financial recommendations, and design and construction phases.

Project Framework a 10 step process

In order to organize and manage a complicated process we created a 10 step outline. Each item represents many hours of planning and decision making and will offer a means to measure progress and maintain accountability to the tribal membership.

1. Administrative Organization - maintaining routine office/management responsibilities
2. Research and Information - continuous acquisition and review of pertinent topics related to the project
3. Operational Planning - defining new work relationships and links between the departments who will be housed in the new facility. Scheduling software, shared spaces, funding, target audiences, central reporting system, etc.
4. Community Input - will provide on-going updates and information via Tribal website, Tribal Observer and meetings.

At this point we will have created a Feasibility and Planning document which will serve as a foundational design resource for architect firms and planners. A qualifications based review of firms will be used to identify companies we will interview for the project. The company we hire will then be on board and involved with steps 5-10.

5. Design Concept
6. Schematic Drawings
7. Construction Documents
8. Construction of Facility
9. Final Inspections
10. Move in Facility and End of Project Review

Site Recommendations

As mentioned previously, this is not the first time a Tribal Council has initiated this project. In 2011 Tribal Council passed a motion designating the VanOrden property for Education/Parks and Recreation future development.  The Planning Team reviewed site information and unanimously agreed to affirm and maintain the previously designated site.

1. October 19, 2011 Tribal Council Motion. Designating VanOrden property for Education/Parks & Recreation future development
2. July 11, 2013 Planning Team affirms and recommends maintaining site identified by Tribal Council.

Map of School Location

It is a privilege and honor to work on such an important project. I value your comments and ideas. Please direct comments to bekdahl@sagchip.org