Blackhawk Dance Troup urban Indian community

WELCOME to the
American Indian Association of Illinois!

We believe quality education can change lives!

scholarships, tutoring and other support for American Indian students

The American Indian Association of Illinois (AIAI) is an urban educational non-profit that provides student centered, intensive, higher education counseling, advising, financial aid and scholarship assistance and many other services to individuals and groups interested in attending public,private, and tribal schools in Chicago and throughout the United States. The Medicine Shield Indian School leadership in cooperation with higher education institutions such as Eastern Illinois University, NAES College and the Institute for Native American Development at Truman College have graduated hundreds of American Indian students and others with low cost-high quality college degrees in urban communities such as Chicago and Minneapolis and in tribal communities such as Fort Peck, Leech Lake, Santa Domingo and Menominee.

AIAI celebrates American Indian culture, language and tradition, through its programs and services. AIAI supports native excellence one success story at a time. AIAI also provides scholarships, tutoring, and other support for American Indian Chicago Public School students and adults through the Native Scholars Academic Program and the AIAI Adult Learning Center.

AIAI strives to preserve and celebrate Native culture through the Chicago American Indian Museum, Bear Claw Multimedia and the Black Hawk Performance Company. Teaching and learning Native languages such as Ojibwe and Cherokee are essential parts of AIAI.

The Thunder Spirit Institute provides economic development educational activities such as housing referral, home ownership preparation and American Indian business support, as part of the AIAI vision.

AIAI was founded in 2007 by Dr. Dorene Wiese to help improve the lives of American Indian people through learning.

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