South High’s All Nations program has it’s first full-time program coordinator, Ona Knoxsah. She started in the position at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year but she also attended South as a student, graduating in 1999 out of the All Nations program. She went on to get an associates degree in arts at Haskell Indian Nations University, a bachelors in American Indian studies at the University of Minnesota, and she is currently working on her graduate studies. Knoxsah is enrolled in the Prairie Band Potawatomi in Kansas but she grew up very close to Ojibwe people and culture.
She has previously held roles at the Native American Community Clinic, the Minneapolis American Indian Center, and other Native organizations but she likes working with youth the most. “Adults don’t have that ability to imagine a positive future.. Kids are different, they are seeking that guidance.” Knoxsah speaks about inspiring and supporting Native students, in a different way than she received it. “I’m coming at [it from] an angle of support and love.”
“It’s an honor for me to be here, I am here to support All Nations” Knoxsah is pushing for a stronger, more consistent program for future generations to experience. Starting with bringing the culture to South High, hosting classes for making ribbon skirts and shirts as well as having drummers come in to teach students and their families how to drum and sing. She’s also planning college tours in and out of state along with more field trips to sacred sites.
She also noted that South may host an All Nations powwow in the spring, which used to be a tradition but stopped after the pandemic.
Knoxsah wants to support students who are coming from the same life that she had. She says, “I want to serve people in my community who have a life that I had. Who had the same circumstances… I want to help those kids.” She is an advocate for higher education, “I am a lifelong learner.”
