Recognizing the incredible parallels between WI/MN Native and Hmong experiences, culture, spirituality and community as Indigenous Peoples, we have created the Widening the Circle Education Symposium to acknowledge and address our shared issues with education.

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The Symposium is designed to follow traditional Indigenous values in bringing people together through multiple opportunities to meet with Native and Hmong elders and educators to:

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• Create an environment, which provides educators and students a culturally responsive model of critical multicultural and Indigenous (specifically Native and Hmong) education;

• Build relationships that will provide a solid basis through which to better understand their students and communities;

• Develop a critical consciousness to deconstruct their biases and stereotypes to begin to see how their practice, and current educational policies can be problematic for students;

• Learn positive strategies and ideas to rethink methodologies and infuse a more meaningful and inclusive curriculum and praxis through a critical framework and using Indigenous educational practices, teaching/learning about Indigenous histories, cultures, contemporary issues, and critical multicultural pedagogy to fight oppression and inspire understanding, acceptance, critique sovereignty and respect for all.