Central Lakes College and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Anishinaabe recently commemorated the first academic year as partners in higher education at the Mille Lacs Band Tribal College. About 20 Band members were students during the fall and spring semesters through courses taught at the tribal college by CLC instructors. More classes will be taught there next year as new higher education options continue to be developed. CLC has offered classes in mathematics, college readiness, reading, composition, career planning, interpersonal communication, Ojibwe language, and federal Indian policy. The celebration ceremony included a presentation of gifts by Band elders Dorothy Sam and Joe Nayquonabe, assisted by Josh Maudrie, the Band’s director of higher education, and CLC representatives Jeff Wig, Charles Black Lance, Suzanne Karsnia, Kathryn Black Lance, Kathryn Klopfleisch, and Kathryn Schulte.