| Major Partnerships |
| Oceti Sakowin is a term that translates from both
the Lakota and Dakota languages into English as
“Seven Council Fires”. Inherent in the
term is an implication of relatives coming together
for a common purpose. To meet one’s relatives
in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration,
to celebrate through food, song and prayer a common
bond and to work together to build a better future
for the coming generations. |
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| It is in that spirit that the founders of the
Oceti Sakowin Education Consortium first began working
together. The Oceti Sakowin Education Consortium
is a legacy of the Visions TECWEB Project, a Technology
Innovation Challenge Grant of the U. S. Department
of Education. Visions TECWEB and its participating
membership provided the programmatic and financial
basis for the establishment of the consortium. The
initial Visions TECWEB partnering members where
diverse, comprised of parochial, state, federal
and tribal schools and a tribal education department,
the Visions TECWEB project tested the theory that
the needs of the Native Children served outweighed
the political considerations of systems that had
evolved separately, and sometimes in competition,
of each other. The success of Visions TECWEB in
building curriculum, providing guidance to members
in professional development and to help direct and
gather resources was viewed by other school leaders
serving Native Children as an important model to
continue. |
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| In December of 2000 the original Visions TECWEB
schools invited other schools and tribal colleges
to begin the process of building an organization
that would carry out the model started by the Visions
TECWEB project. The membership has grown to include
schools and colleges from a three state region who
choose to work together to strengthen their work
with Native Children. |
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| To achieve our common goals, the consortium partners
with a number of agencies across the State. OSEC
has created a formal arrangement with the Mid-Central
Educational Cooperative to assist OSEC in management
of its fiscal accounts and to be a base for management
of consortium activities. Mid-Central and OSEC have
created a working relationship that provides strength
to both organizations and builds on commonly held
beliefs in educating children of all communities. |
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| In 2001 OSEC created a partnership with the DIAL
Consortium to manage a part of the Interactive Learning
Consortium (ILC) grant. DIAL, through ILC has helped
OSEC create a jointly managed Virtual School. |
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| In 2002 OSEC became a member of the Midwest Alliance
for Professional Learning (MAPLE). MAPLE is a legacy
of the LOFTI Technology Challenge Grant and seeks
to bring together all professional development organizations
in the State. |
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| In 2004 the consortium partnered with the South Dakota Department of Education to fund the South Dakota Gear Up Grant. This project seeks to improve the number of Native American students attending Board of Regents Universities and other Higher Education institution. |
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| OSEC continues to partner with organizations to carry out its vision. |
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