NA TO SA PI (Old Sun "to see", as in "gain insight") | |
 | |
| Motto | empowering a nation through education |
|---|---|
| Type | Tribal College |
| President | Maria Big Snake |
| Location | P.O. Box 1250, Siksika T0J 3W0 , 50°50′54″N113°03′38″W / 50.8482°N 113.0605°W |
| Campus | urban/suburban reserve |
| Website | Official site |
Old Sun Community College is a community college owned and operated by First Nations that provides post-secondary education and training in Siksika 146, Alberta, Canada, to members of the Siksika Nation.
Old Sun Community College is a member of the First Nation & Adult Higher Education Consortium, a non-profit organization in Western Canada, which coordinates the efforts of its members to provide quality adult and higher education, controlled entirely by people of the First Nations. [1]
The main campus building was used as a Residential School for Blackfoot children from 1929-1971. From 1971–1976, the College was operated as a campus of Mount Royal College. In 1978, Old Sun Community College became an independent institution operated by the Blackfoot Band. The College was named in honour of Chief Old Sun (1819–1897) who served as a medicine man, warrior, and leader of one of the largest of the Blackfoot Confederacy bands. In Blackfoot, Chief Old Sun’s name NA TO SA PI translates to ‘Sun Elder’ or ‘Sun Old Man’ which implies ‘to see’, or 'to gain insight'.
Since the 1980s, Old Sun Education has evolved from a small upgrading program into Old Sun Community College, a centre offering accredited post-secondary courses, certificates, diplomas and degrees via partnerships with recognized colleges and universities, in particular the University of Calgary and Bow Valley College.
Students are instructed by Professors from affiliated Universities and Colleges. Some of the academic programs offered at Old Sun Community College are as follows:
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The Blackfoot language, also called Siksiká, often anglicised as Siksika, is an Algonquian language spoken by the Blackfoot or Niitsitapi people, who currently live in the northwestern plains of North America. There are four dialects, three of which are spoken in Alberta, Canada, and one of which is spoken in the United States: Siksiká / ᓱᖽᐧᖿ (Blackfoot), to the southeast of Calgary, Alberta; Kainai / ᖿᐟᖻ, spoken in Alberta between Cardston and Lethbridge; Aapátohsipikani / ᖳᑫᒪᐦᓱᑯᖿᖹ, to the west of Fort MacLeod which is Brocket (Piikani) and Aamsskáápipikani / ᖳᐢᔈᖿᑯᑯᖿᖹ, in northwestern Montana. The name Blackfoot probably comes from the blackened soles of the leather shoes that the people wore.
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