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Submitted Photo Minot State University’s Native American Cultural Club student leadership for 2025-26, from left, Amberlee Medrud, vice president; Jaylee Jay, president; and Chiara Forschen, secretary-treasurer, utilize a new couch in the Native American Cultural Center as part of a gift to upgrade furniture from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Tribal Council and Chairman Jamie Azure. Photo from Minot State University.

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Submitted Photo Members of the Minot State University Native American Cultural Center and members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Tribal Council and Chairman Jamie Azure pose for a photo with new furniture in the Center provided by the Council and Chairman Azure. Pictured from left are: Annette Mennem, MSU Native American Cultural Center director; councilman Lynn Gourneau, MSU; students Amberlee Medrud, Jaylee Jay, Chiara Forschen, and chairman Jamie Azure. Photo from Minot State University.

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Minot State University’s Native American Cultural Center received a gift from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Tribal Council and Chairman Jamie Azure to upgrade furniture in the center, according to MSU.

Azure was on campus and took time with the MSU Native American Club during Minot State’s annual Indigenous People’s Day, serving as a speaker at the event. His time in the Native American Cultural Center led to the idea of the upgrade.

“Chairman Azure spent time speaking with our students in the Center, and he expressed the feeling of home it provided,” said Annette Mennem, Native American Cultural Center director. “He decided he wanted to gift us new furniture and set it up with Stu’s Furniture in Belcourt to enhance our space. The students and I worked together to pick out what best fit the needs of the center.”

Azure and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Tribal Council donated furniture, including a couch, loveseat, two ottomans, two chairs, an entertainment center, a smart TV, room decor, and a dining table with six chairs.

The new items were delivered to the center in January.