Welcoming Community: Language Equity

Language plays an integral role in how we interact within our communities and feel a sense of belonging. Welcoming efforts around language can include the use of bi-lingual signage, availability of translators, and awareness of how our words are perceived and impact those around us.

Considering the relationship between language use and inclusion is essential to understanding a more complete picture of equity across the Northland. Visit the Resources to Explore section to learn more about some current stories around language equity in the Northland.

Continued Learning

The goal of the Welcoming Community program is to provide the community with continued opportunities for learning and connection related to topics relevant to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our region. In our monthly emails, we highlight a specific equity topic and provide resources related to the monthly theme.

The theme for the month of April is Language Equity. When exploring the learnings in the Resources to Explore section, we ask that you consider the following question:

“In terms of language equity in NE Minnesota, where have we come from, where are we now, and what steps do we need to take to reach an equitable future.”

Resources to Explore

• Oneida Nation: Book tells of American Indian children in boarding schools 
• Almanac North: Deer River Anishinaabe Education Program 
• Star Tribune: Blaine man returns to Mille Lacs reservation to help preserve Ojibwe ways 
• KARE 11: Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Rosetta Stone team up to preserve the Ojibwe language
• NACE National Association of Colleges and Employers: The importance of language in supporting DEI efforts
• Lake Voice News: Deaf entertainment in Duluth 
• Duluth News Tribune: Duluth students learn science, Ojibwe culture in the sugarbush 
• ASAE The Center for Association Leadership: Make inclusive language a key part of your DEI efforts
• Red Lake Nation News: Bemidji incorporates Ojibwe into city’s signs and daily life 
• MinnPost: Bemidji incorporates Ojibwe into city’s signs and daily life: Ojibwe translation

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Complete the Inclusion Readiness Assessment Online

On April 14, 2022, the virtual Inclusion Readiness Assessment session was hosted by Northspan in partnership with the University of Minnesota Extension’s Center for Community Vitality.

The meeting featured an orientation to the Inclusion Readiness Assessment and breakout rooms for participants to complete a portion of the assessment related to a community sector they are involved with (schools, health care, local government, businesses, law enforcement, faith organizations, and nonprofit organizations). Over 50 community members participated in the session.

The Inclusion Readiness Assessment is used to establish a baseline to understand how inclusive our communities are for individuals from all backgrounds and differing lived experiences. This includes individuals from underrepresented groups including but not limited to BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, veterans, persons with a disability, elders (65+), and youth (18-23).

Using the results from the assessments, Northspan’s Welcoming Community programming is launching learning cohorts centered around inclusion topics in these three communities:

• Cloquet School District
• Cook County School District
• Rock Ridge School District

Do you live or work in one of the learning cohort communities?

Please visit this link to view the video of the orientation session and complete the assessment online.

The next step in the process includes a two-hour Zoom action planning meeting for each community where the results of the assessment are reported and used to inform the learning topics for the Inclusion Learning Cohorts in that community.

The Inclusion Learning Cohorts will be monthly in-person educational and conversational spaces for community members to come together to learn and discuss topics related to inclusion and take action in addressing inclusion gaps in their community. These are set to begin in each community in June or July 2022.

Please contact alewis@northspan.org for more information or if you are interested in participating in the action planning session for one of these communities.

Click Here To Take The Assessment