Waadookodaading
Indigenous nonprofit organization school in Hayward, Wisconsin, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute (Waadookodaading) is an Ojibwe-language immersion school located on the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Reservation in Hayward, Wisconsin.[2]
| Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
8575 W Trepania Rd, Hayward, WI 54843 United States 45.944°N 91.357°W | |
| Information | |
| Type | Indigenous nonprofit organization |
| Established | 2001 |
Principal | Lisa LaRonge |
| Grades | K–8 |
| Enrollment | 415 (2023-24) [1] |
History
The immersion program was started during the 2000–2001 academic school year by the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.[3]
Mission
The school was primarily conceived to preserve the Ojibwe (Anishinaabe)-language in Wisconsin, where only a few dozen elderly native speakers were estimated to remain in 2019.[4] The name of the school roughly translates to “helping one another.”[5]
Facility
Waadookodaading is physically connected to the English-language Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School, but functions autonomously.[6]
Academics
Organization and funding
Waadookodaading is an independent charter institution.[9] In 2024, it received $5 million in federal funding aimed at expanding its operations to K-12.[10] The Administration for Native Americans also granted the school $300,000 in 2024.[11] In December 2024, the school announced that it received a $1.5 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.[12]