SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Native American educator and comic book author Mark Mindt is making his mark on schools throughout the Sioux Falls School District this week. We caught up with him at George McGovern Middle School on Wednesday morning.
Mindt is a member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation of North Dakota. After spending more than 20 years as a teacher and school administrator, he is now a public speaker with his own unique style. He encourages students to set goals and also shares the importance of academics.
In a room full of seventh graders, Mark Mindt combined music, art and comic books to encourage students to find their superpower.
“Today, the focus is on them that their imagination is so important, their creativity, also that vision. We all have a vision inside of us,” Mindt said.
To help the kids find that vision, he simply asked them to draw.
“The artwork was taking that vision and see what it looks like when we create a future for ourselves, no matter how long it takes. Five minutes, five hours, five days, five weeks, five months, five years. It’s going to happen,” Mindt said.
Mindt also used a comic book he wrote called “Koda the Warrior” to illustrate the power of education.
“Koda came from my imagination back when I was in fifth grade. As an artist, illustrator back then, my process would be I’d write up my goals, draw them out and pretty soon, I realized it becomes a story. Then, when I became a teacher, my students actually told me when I was a first-year teacher, my students said, ‘Mr. Mindt, you should make a comic book,’ so I did,” Mindt said.
Each of the unique facets of Mindt’s presentation helps him connect with each student every time he visits a school.
“That’s one of the beautiful things about what he does is that it encompasses so many different avenues that each kid can find a piece of what he talks about that resonates with them and carry that forward with them depending on where they are in their own lives,” Sioux Falls School District chairperson for the Office of Indian Education Anna Brokenleg said.
Mindt will give presentations in Sioux Falls schools through next week Monday. His comic book will also be available to check out in every library in the school district.
