Feb. 6—CASS LAKE — Leech Lake Nation’s

Laurie Harper was recently elected as chair of the Tribal Nations Education Committee on Jan. 17.

Harper has served as the TNEC representative for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe since 2018 and was voted in during a special election to fill the recently vacated seat of Jennifer Murray, who served as chairperson for four years representing the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

According to a release, the TNEC was established to remedy a lack of government-to-government communication, cooperation and consultation between the state of Minnesota and tribal nations related to education.

The TNEC consists of representatives from each of the eleven tribal nations of Minnesota along with one representative from the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, one from greater Minnesota and two from the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to serve all eleven tribal nations as the Tribal Nations Education committee chair,” Harper said in the release. “I thank those that have served in the role before me and I take the responsibility to heart, as our children and youth deserve the best possible outcome in a system that was not designed for us. I will continue to advocate for equity and access for our American Indian students, in ways that have been deemed priority by our tribal nations.”

Harper currently works as director of education for the Leech Lake Band providing leadership to its early childhood, Gaa-Niigaaniziwaad and scholarship programs as well as workforce development. On a national level, Harper serves as president of the Tribal Education Department’s National Assembly.

Beth Tepper, who will step into the vice chair position to represent metro area families, will join Harper and committee secretary Billie Annette as part of the TNEC executive leadership team.