In mid-October 2025, ceramic artist —and one of NCC’s fall McKnight Residents— was introduced to the Community Outreach program because she expressed interest in teaching in our local Seward community in Minneapolis. Julia Rodman, the Community Engagement Manager helped her indentify several local schools she had researched online and a bus route to reach them. Instead, she ended up walking and happened upon a different school by chance, drawn in by a beautiful mosaic on the building. Sana’s passion for teaching during her three-month McKnight Residency was the primary reason this partnership began; equally important was Nawayee Center School’s willingness to go along for the ride with us.
Center School began as a drop-in center for at-risk Native youth in the Phillips neighborhood and, in 1974, became a school serving grades 7–12 as an alternative school within the Minneapolis Public School system. In addition to being a school, it is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is currently housed in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis in a building that hosted many of the early meetings of the American Indian Movement.
You might miss the school if you weren’t looking for it—it’s housed in a small, two-story brick building—and includes a garden and fenced-in outdoor area. The school currently serves 40 students, approximately 95% of them identifying as Native American. Center School has offered many students a fresh start after experiencing challenges in the traditional public school system. It emphasizes Indigenous education, relationships with teachers, small class sizes, and most importantly, a love of learning. Walt Johnson, science teacher, put it perfectly: “Center School’s strength is that we have the culture, we’re small, and we accommodate students. I don’t think there are a bunch of schools like that around.”
Benay McNamara, Art and Ojibwe teacher at Center School, shared that she had long wanted to bring ceramics into her teaching but “hadn’t quite figured it out.” Sana, with the financial support of the Minnesota State Arts Board Arts Education grant, quite literally became an opportunity knocking on the school’s door. Through different projects including lanyards, beading, drums and papermaking, Benay has been able to share art from an indigenous perspective and the contributions Indigenous artists have made to the art world.
Nawayee Center School students working on their projects.
Through this program, Sana met with students at Center School for seven sessions, bringing clay directly to the school and working on a variety of projects, many guided by the students’ own interests. Students were even able to earn school credit for their participation. Reflecting on the support that made the partnership possible, Sana shared, “[Northern Clay Center] made it real easy to be me. It’s lovely, absolutely lovely.” She continued, “[In] every academic institution, I’ve always had to prove that I fit—that I belonged. Here, I didn’t have to do that. This became a home away from home, and I want to see the partnership continue.”
NCC’s Community Outreach program is designed to create opportunities for you and your community, similar to this one. We do our best to meet the unique needs of each partner. Whether you are a small alternative school, a large public school, a community center, a library or something else, NCC is here —with passionate and talented teaching artists— to bring clay to you.
If you’re interested in organizing a program like this, please send an inquiry to our Community Engagement Manager, Julia Rodman, at juliarodman@northernclaycenter.
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