Brian Michael Collins is a career change teacher, once a wildlife biology technician,
he has been teaching high school biology for 24 years at the same school, Unity High
School in Balsam Lake. Early in his career, he recognized a significant opportunity gap for
Indigenous students in his district. While only 10-15% of his school's students are from a
tribal community, he adopted the philosophy that our curriculum isn't sacred, but our
children are. He reached out to the Round Lake Community of the Saint Croix Chippewa of
Wisconsin and followed in a partnership that has resulted in cultural inclusion, academic
success, greatly increased American Indian graduation rates, and opportunities for the
whole district to experience and enjoy Ojibwe culture. He currently teaches Biology,
transcripted credit College Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Ojibwe Language and Ojibwe
Language II. Ojibwe Anishinaabe worldviews are infused often in all curriculum.