Debra Parrish | |
---|---|
President of Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College | |
Succeeded by | Lori Ann Sherman |
Personal details | |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Northern Michigan University (B.A.) |
Occupation | Academic administrator |
Debra J. Parrish is an American academic administrator. She was a president of Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College for almost 30 years.
Parrish completed a B.A. from Northern Michigan University. [1]
Parrish began working for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) in 1972 as a legal secretary for Gar Hood,a tribal attorney. She also assisted Georgianna Emery to create the first National Congress of American Indians meeting at the tribal center. Parrish worked as a secretary and administrative assistant for the Young Adult Community Corp (YAAC) program and the chairman's office. She was an administrative assistant for Don LaPointe. She worked on the Elderly Nutrition Programs with James Schutte and helped set up the Ojibwa Seniors Gift Shop. Parrish was a program coordinator for job training programs and in the business development office. She assisted in the creation of the Ojibwa Lanes and Lounge project with Mike Chosa and Tim Shanahan and in the creation of the Ojibwa Industrial Park. Parrish helped develop the Economic Development Corporation and volunteered during the establishment of KBIC's Big Bucks Bingo in Zeba Bingo Hall. She was an early manager of the Even Start Program where she established the indoor play center that is now part of the Pre-Primary Program. Parrish served on the Keweenaw Bay Tribal Council in 1987 and as the secretary. She participated in committees including hiring,powwow,economic development,education,constitutional task force,health board,and the Ojibwa senior board. [2]
Parrish worked at Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) for 46 years including nearly 20 years as president of Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College. [3] [4] She reestablished KBOCC as an institution of higher learning. In 1998,Tribal Council granted Parrish permission to reopen KBOCC which was charted in 1975 but closed down in 1980. It first started in a section of the Ojibwa Senior Citizen's center before expanding to its own buildings in Baraga in 2000. After purchasing the former Baraga County Memorial Hospital for $1.00,extensive renovation was done to become the Wabanung Campus,the college's main campus in L'Anse,Michigan. Parrish played a key role in the development of the four year old Little Eagles Center,KBOCC Child Care Center,and the Pelkie Arts and Agricultural Center. Under Parrish's leadership,KBOCC joined the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. [2] At KBOCC,she oversaw the college achieve accreditation. Initiatives she worked with included Indian tuition waivers,and advocating for the continuance of the Title III Higher Education Act. [5] In 2013,KBOCC became fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and was granted became a Land-grant university in 2014. [2]
On January 26,2018,she announced her resignation and retirement from KBOCC. [2] [3] Parrish stated she would still work as a consultant but wanted to take time to "relax and enjoy family." [5] Parrish was succeeded by interim president Cherie Dakota. [2] In August 2018,Lori Ann Sherman became president of KBOCC. [6]
Parrish received funding from the Economic Research Service to conduct health assessments and a nutrition screening of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. This study consisted of nutrition surveys for families with children ages 1 to 4. A major obstacle facing the project included the distribution of surveys because the tribal operations did not have a central mailing list. Her study aimed to document the prevalence of nutrition related diseases in tribal youth,reduce the incidence of chronic diseases,and to create programs to teach Ojibwe culture with the goal of encouraging healthy lifestyles. [7]
Parrish has two children,Sharon Geroux of New Mexico and deceased son,Rick Geroux. After his death,a memorial scholarship was established at KBOCC. Parrish has seven grandchildren and cared for twelve foster children. [8]
Baraga County is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census,the population was 8,158,making it Michigan's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is L'Anse. The county is named after Bishop Frederic Baraga,a Catholic missionary who ministered to the Ojibwa Indians in the Michigan Territory.
Baraga Township is a civil township of Baraga County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census,the township population was 3,815. The village of Baraga is located in the southeast corner of the township.
L'Anse is a village in northwest Michigan,United States,and the county seat of Baraga County. The population was 2,011 at the 2010 census. The village is located within L'Anse Township.
The Ojibwe,Ojibwa,Chippewa,or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada and the northern Midwestern United States. According to the US census,in the United States Ojibwe people are one of the largest tribal populations among Native American peoples. In Canada,they are the second-largest First Nations population,surpassed only by the Cree. They are one of the most numerous Indigenous Peoples north of the Rio Grande.
Ojibwe,also known as Ojibwa,Ojibway,Otchipwe,or Ojibwemowin,is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian language family. The language is characterized by a series of dialects that have local names and frequently local writing systems. There is no single dialect that is considered the most prestigious or most prominent,and no standard writing system that covers all dialects.
The L'Anse Indian Reservation is the land base of the federally recognized Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of the historic Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians.. The reservation is located primarily in two non-contiguous sections on either side of the Keweenaw Bay in Baraga County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan.
The Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC),is an Indian reservation forming the land base of one of the many federally recognized Sault Ste. Marie bands of Chippewa.
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians,commonly shortened to Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians or the more colloquial Soo Tribe,is a federally recognized Native American tribe in what is now known as Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The tribal headquarters is located within Sault Ste. Marie,the major city in the region,which is located on the St. Marys River.
M-38 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of the U.S. state of Michigan. Its west end starts in Ontonagon and runs east to Baraga,some 42.225 miles (67.955 km) apart. The highway crosses streams and rivers in forest lands and provides access to a casino. The east end is located by the Keweenaw Bay of Lake Superior in the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in northwest Michigan on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sam McClellan is the current tribal chairman,elected in June 2016 to a four-year term after succeeding Al Pedwaydon,who served from 2012 to 2016.
Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) is a public tribal land-grant community college in Brimley,Michigan. It is chartered by the federally recognized Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan with a total enrollment of approximately 500 on-campus and online students. The students come primarily from Michigan's eastern Upper Peninsula and are 60% Native American. BMCC is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC),a community of tribally and federally chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations,and a land-grant college.
Madeline Island is an island in Lake Superior. Now part of Ashland County,Wisconsin,it was long a spiritual center of the Lake Superior Chippewa. Although the largest of the Apostle Islands,it is not included in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is the only island in the Apostle Island chain open to commercial development and private ownership.
Assinins is a historic district consisting of several buildings that were originally a school and orphanage,located in Assinins,Michigan. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Zeba is a census-designated place in L'Anse Township of Baraga County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located on the southern shore of Keweenaw Bay at 46°48′09″N88°24′52″W,about halfway between L'Anse and Pequaming. The community was named Zeba because of a small stream that runs southeast of it. The 2010 census recorded a population of 480 inhabitants.
The Lake Superior Chippewa are a large number of Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) bands living around Lake Superior;this territory is considered part of northern Michigan,Wisconsin,and Minnesota in the United States. They migrated into the area by the seventeenth century,encroaching on the Eastern Dakota people who historically occupied the area. The Ojibwe defeated the Eastern Dakota and had their last battle in 1745,after which the Dakota Sioux migrated west into the Great Plains. While sharing a common culture and Anishinaabe language,this group of Ojibwe is highly decentralized,with at least twelve independent bands in this region.
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is a band of the Lake Superior Chippewa,many of whom reside on the Lac Vieux Desert Indian Reservation,located near Watersmeet,Michigan. It is approximately 45 miles southeast of Ironwood,Michigan in Gogebic County.
The Sand Point Site is an archaeological site located near Baraga,Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC) is a public tribal community college in Baraga,Michigan.
The Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians is a state recognized tribe of Ojibwe and Odawa Native Americans,based in the state Michigan. The tribe is headquartered in St. Ignace,Mackinac County and has around 4,000 enrolled members. Today most tribal members live in Mackinac,Chippewa,Emmet,Cheboygan,and Presque Isle counties,however many tribal members are also located throughout the state of Michigan and the United States.