100 Rural Women Indigenous Civic Intern Mentorship Program

100 Rural Women creates connections and inspires leadership. We aim to engage more women in civic spaces and provide leadership mentorship through our programming. We are committed to expanding our outreach, serving a diverse audience, and providing accessible civic education in rural communities. We have piloted leadership exchange programs, helped rural women of various backgrounds understand different pathways to elected and appointed leadership, and created an engaging online architecture, which includes training and educational resources for rural women. Building on what we learned from our Civic Mentorship Network Pilot program this past year, 100 Rural Women plans to engage in additional strategic outreach to increase the number of Indigenous women, women of color, and underrepresented women in civic engagement.

We are dedicated to empowering underrepresented women in leadership and seek to build authentic relationships with native nations, tribal colleges, indigenous-serving institutions, and Indigenous regional leaders as these connections play a crucial role in shaping our programming to become more accessible and inclusive. One of 100 Rural Women's goals for the next year is to establish a mentorship program for Indigenous women in collaboration with a tribal college or Indigenous-serving institution and Indigenous tribal and community leaders in Minnesota. Using our existing leadership exchange framework, 100 Rural Women will offer a 6-month community internship during the summer and fall of 2024, recruiting 4 to 5 Indigenous women interested in pursuing civic leadership positions or who seek roots in civic engagement. This internship will be accomplished in partnership with regional and community leaders and higher education institutions to promote inclusivity and increase our outreach.

The internship format will be broken up into two parts. The first 3 months will include research on local and/or tribal government and identifying potential mentors for the second portion of the internship: leadership mentoring. Interns will also attend educational events 100 Rural Women plans on hosting during the summer to supplement their learning and research. During the second portion of the internship in the fall, interns will meet with their mentors a set number of times and write short, informal reflections on their conversations. Mentors will provide advice and guidance on demystifying local offices.

Additionally, students will work collaboratively with each other to create a guide on local governments to educate the general public on basic government procedures and semantics. After completing this internship, interns will gain and or enhance their understanding of government procedures and civics while gaining confidence to navigate the public sector. Community members who are not current students participating in this project will not be required to assist in writing this piece but can participate in the writing process if they have interest.

100 Rural Women recognizes the crucial role of including marginalized women, Indigenous women, and women of color in fostering economic equity and sustainable change. For these reasons, we firmly believe offering mentorship opportunities to underserved communities cultivates sustained interest in women pursuing leadership positions in their local communities.