College of Menominee Nation Sets April Cultural Events, Graduation Ceremonies

The College of Menominee Nation's Keshena campus is running weekly beading sessions, moccasin-making workshops, and cultural dress days through April, part of a freshly posted spring calendar that also locks in Commencement Week logistics for the tribal land-grant institution's graduating class.

CMN's April lineup names five recurring cultural programs: "Beading for Bliss," "Breathe and Bead," Thursday moccasin-making, Weaving Wednesdays, and "Ribbon Shirt or Skirt Wednesdays," which appear as an all-day standing entry every week rather than a single special event. The approach threads traditional craft and dress into the ordinary academic week alongside the college's degree programs in forestry, environmental science, health, and education. The Sustainable Development Institute's Winter Farmers' Market also holds dates on the April calendar at local sites, giving vendors and shoppers fixed windows as the Keshena area begins to see increased spring foot traffic.

For families and employers, the Commencement Week posting carries the most immediate stakes. CMN's schedule instructs graduates to arrive at the Keshena campus by specified times for a class photo and ceremony lineup. The reception follows at the Menominee Casino Resort, the same venue that has served as the post-graduation gathering point for consecutive graduating classes. CMN enrolls between 600 and 700 students each semester across Keshena and Green Bay; even at the college's reported completion rate, Commencement Week draws well over a hundred graduates along with family members traveling from across the region, concentrating visitor spending in Keshena at the Casino Resort and surrounding businesses for at least a day.

Graduates completing CMN's programs in forestry, public health, and education enter a Menominee County labor market where tribal enterprises and regional public agencies are consistently competing for credentialed workers. That pipeline runs through Chief Academic Officer Geraldine Sanapaw, whom Madison365 named one of Wisconsin's 28 Most Influential Native American Leaders for 2026, and through faculty like Dr. Sarah Vande Corput, who received the 2026 Excellence in Teaching First-Year Seminars Award from the National Resource Center this year.

CMN's public calendar at menominee.edu is the authoritative source for scheduling changes, specific session times, and market dates. Graduates with questions about arrival logistics or accommodations for Commencement Week should contact CMN directly.