Committee advances Native youth suicide‑prevention grant; lays over permanent‑fund and mascot bills for further work

Senator Kunish presented several bills related to Indian education on March 18, 2025, and the Minnesota State Education Finance Committee voted to recommend passage of Senate File 42 — a one‑time grant to fund development and piloting of culturally specific suicide‑prevention curriculum for Native youth — and laid over multiple other measures for possible inclusion in the omnibus package.

Senate File 42: suicide‑prevention curriculum Sen. Kunish said the grant would fund the Division of Indian Work and community partners to develop and pilot a suicide‑prevention curriculum tailored to Native youth, with an emphasis on mental health, emotional intelligence and suicide prevention. Testimony in support included Suzanne Nash of Indigenous Peoples Task Force, who urged culturally rooted protective practices; Kelsey Yale, a licensed clinical social worker who described national and state suicide trends and the need for culturally specific preventive strategies; and Beth Seidel of Division of Indian Work, who described lived experience and the importance of…