About College of Menominee Nation
The College of Menominee Nation (CMN) is an accredited baccalaureate institution serving students from a flagship campus in Keshena, Wisconsin, on the Menominee reservation. CMN's academic core features eight buildings on 52 wooded, rural acres. An urban campus, which enrolls about one-third of the College's student population, is located in the nearby metropolitan area of the City of Green Bay. Both campuses welcome students from many American Indian tribes and a broad range of ethnicities and races.
The College represents a recent chapter in the long story of the Menominee People. The tribe's narrative spans thousands of years and was once centered on a vast hunting, gathering and agricultural range from east of Lake Michigan to west of the Mississippi River. By the 20th Century, tribal land was reduced to a reservation of 235,000 forested acres. The Menominee entered into a long legal battle in the 1950s when federal actions terminated tribal status and led to dismantling of the tribe's once vibrant community infrastructure of schools, courts, industry and health care. After winning its case in 1973, the tribe began rebuilding its community and in 1993 opened CMN as a chartered entity offering general education courses for a few dozen adult students in rented and loaned classrooms.
Today, the College provides academic degrees in professional and disciplinary majors, technical diplomas in a select number of fields, and a broad range of continuing education and outreach opportunities. Programming at all levels is infused with American Indian culture and specifically addresses issues and needs of a multicultural world. In keeping with its Land Grant status, CMN encourages its students, faculty and staff to engage in applied research across the curriculum and within the College's Sustainable Development Institute. The College is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.