When Bill Blackwell, Jr. became executive director of Bemidji State’s American Indian Resource Center in July 2015, he was back where he’d earned a bachelor’s degree just three years before.

Blackwell previously had been managing private and public fundraising, grant writing and marketing at Leech Lake Tribal College since 2012.

A member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, he enrolled at BSU in 2011 to complete an education interrupted by a career in retail management.

“I used to frequently ask myself, ‘What have I done today?’” Blackwell said. “I meant that in the sense of, ‘What have I done for my community, for my people?’ And the answer was always, ‘Nothing.’ So one day, I locked up the store and said, ‘This is enough.’”

He went on to receive his master’s degree in tribal administration and governance from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and is working toward a doctorate.

Blackwell’s many initiatives at BSU include forming a group for students with children and organizing a gourmet dinner that featured “Sioux Chef” Sean Sherman. The Feb. 10 event raised $5,500 to help native students overcome small financial hurdles.

President Faith Hensrud said the benefit illustrates Blackwell’s enthusiastic approach to supporting
Indian students.

“It was a fun event that brought in community members who could really experience the indigenous foods that were prepared and get them thinking, ‘How do we support the American Indian population, the students who are here?’” Hensrud said.