Red Crow Community College

Last updated
Red Crow Community College
Red Crow Community College logo.jpg
Red Crow Community College logo
TypeTribal College
Established1986 under the direction of the Blood Tribe Education Committee.
Academic affiliations
President Roy Weasel Fat
Location,
Alberta
,
Canada

49°42′25″N112°49′26″W / 49.7069°N 112.8238°W / 49.7069; -112.8238 (Lethbridge location)
CampusUrban/suburban Kainai Nation Blood reserve in Stand Off southern Alberta, Canada with a campus in Lethbridge
Sporting affiliations
CCAA
Website www.redcrowcollege.com

Red Crow Community College is a college located on the Kainai Nation reserve in southern Alberta, Canada with a campus in Lethbridge.

Contents

Partnerships

Red Crow College is a member of the First Nations Adult and 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] RCC is a Canadian member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), which is a community of tribally and federally chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations and make a lasting difference in the lives of American Indians and Alaska Natives. RCC was created in response to the higher education needs of American Indians. RCC generally serves geographically isolated populations that have no other means accessing education beyond the high school level. [2]

History

Red Crow Community College was founded in 1986, making it the fourth institution of higher education for First Nations peoples in Canada. [3] It was placed under the direction of the Blood Tribe Education Committee, and started as an adult education center. The curriculum at first had two high school courses (UCEPP), one University of Lethbridge course, and a study skills component.

On 6 January 1992, Marie Smallface Marule became president of the college. She generated an expansion of the college and its offerings. In early 1995 the college became the first Tribal College in Canada. Its tribal board of governors was officially sanctioned by the Blood tribe chief and council, and they took over governance for education from the Kainaiwa Board of Education.

In 2007, Red Crow College was sponsored into the Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer (ACAT) through partnerships with the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary.

Red Crow College celebrated their 25th anniversary on September 15 and 16, 2011. Honorary P.h.ds from Red Crow College include: Dr. Cynthia Chambers, Dr. Ernie Ingles, Dr. Jane O'day, Dr. Marinus Swanepoel and Dr. Vivian Ayoungman. [4]

Red Crow Community College established the school of Kainai Studies in 2002 to integrate Niitsitapisskska’takssin, a Blackfoot knowledge paradigm, within classrooms of higher education.

The campus has been struck by two significant fires. On 1 December 2001, a fire destroyed more than half of the college library's collection, as well as tribal artwork and journals and a set of more than 2,000 Indigenous-related books. [5] On 14 August 2015, the main building of Red Crow Community College (formerly St Mary's Residential School) was destroyed by a fire. The cause of the fire at that time was unknown, but it is suspected that it was cause by electrical issues on the 3rd floor where the fire started. [6]

Kasian Architecture was involved in designing this project [7]

Curriculum

Red Crow Community College offers diploma and degree programs in partnership with the universities of Calgary and Lethbridge. It also provides adult upgrading, continuing, and community education. Red Crow Community College has recently added the Kainai Studies department, which had a unique curriculum based in the Blackfoot/Kainai/Blood worldview. This recent addition to Red Crow Community College addresses the need to educate Kainai members and others about the lifeways and philosophy of the Niitsitapi (the Blackfoot-language autonym, their name for themselves, meaning "real" or "natural" people).

Red Crow Community College offers the Aboriginal Practical Nurse Diploma Program in partnership with Bow Valley College.

Red Crow Community College offers a master's degree in social work in partnership with the University of Calgary commencing in the summer of 2007 with 15 registrants.

Red Crow Community College offers a master's degree in education, in partnership with the University of Lethbridge. [8] Sinte Gleska University has partnered with Red Crow Community College and Old Sun Community College, both in Alberta, Canada, enabling them to offer a master's degree in education, with an emphasis in early childhood special education. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackfoot Confederacy</span> A name used for a group of Native Americans

The Blackfoot Confederacy, Niitsitapi, or Siksikaitsitapi, is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Blackfeet people: the Siksika ("Blackfoot"), the Kainai or Blood, and two sections of the Peigan or Piikani – the Northern Piikani (Aapátohsipikáni) and the Southern Piikani. Broader definitions include groups such as the Tsúùtínà (Sarcee) and A'aninin who spoke quite different languages but allied with or joined the Blackfoot Confederacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kainai Nation</span> First Nation in Alberta, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackfoot language</span> Indigenous American language

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piikani Nation</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty 7</span> Treaty between First Nations and Canadian Crown

Treaty 7 is an agreement between the Crown and several, mainly Blackfoot, First Nation band governments in what is today the southern portion of Alberta. The idea of developing treaties for Blackfoot lands was brought to Blackfoot chief Crowfoot by John McDougall in 1875. It was concluded on September 22, 1877, and December 4, 1877. The agreement was signed at the Blackfoot Crossing of the Bow River, at the present-day Siksika Nation reserve, approximately 75 km (47 mi) east of Calgary, Alberta. Chief Crowfoot was one of the signatories to Treaty 7. Another signing on this treaty occurred on December 4, 1877, to accommodate some Blackfoot leaders who were not present at the primary September 1877 signing.

First Nations in Alberta are a group of people who live in the Canadian province of Alberta. The First Nations are peoples recognized as Indigenous peoples or Plains Indians in Canada excluding the Inuit and the Métis. According to the 2011 Census, a population of 116,670 Albertans self-identified as First Nations. Specifically there were 96,730 First Nations people with registered Indian Status and 19,945 First Nations people without registered Indian Status. Alberta has the third largest First Nations population among the provinces and territories. From this total population, 47.3% of the population lives on an Indian reserve and the other 52.7% live in urban centres. According to the 2011 Census, the First Nations population in Edmonton totalled at 31,780, which is the second highest for any city in Canada. The First Nations population in Calgary, in reference to the 2011 Census, totalled at 17,040. There are 48 First Nations or "bands" in Alberta, belonging to nine different ethnic groups or "tribes" based on their ancestral languages.

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Hugh Aylmer Dempsey, was a Canadian historian, an author and the Chief Curator Emeritus of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta. Dempsey authored more than 20 books, focusing primarily on the history of people of the Blackfoot Confederacy. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary and was made an honorary chief of the Kainai Blackfoot in 1967. For his contributions to the study of the Plains Indians, Dempsey was awarded membership in the Order of Canada in 1975.

The Honourable Eugene Joseph Creighton is a member of the Blood Tribe, or Kainaiawa, which is an integral part of the Blackfoot Confederacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stand Off, Alberta</span> Locality in Alberta, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faye HeavyShield</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Sun Community College</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maskwacis Cultural College</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joane Cardinal-Schubert</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Three Persons</span> Niistapi rodeo athlete (b. 1888, d. 1949)

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Leroy Little Bear is a Blackfoot researcher, professor emeritus at the University of Lethbridge, founding member of Canada's first Native American Studies Department, and recognized leader and advocate for First Nations education, rights, self-governance, language and culture. He has received numerous awards and recognition for his work, including the Officer Order of Canada, and the Alberta Order of Excellence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Smallface Marule</span> Canadian academic administrator, activist, and educator

Marie Smallface Marule was a Canadian academic administrator, activist, and educator. She served as executive director of the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB), chief administrator of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples (WCIP), and secretary of the Indian Association of Alberta. Marule was president of Red Crow Community College for two decades, and led the creation of several indigenous studies programs. She was previously an assistant professor of Native American studies at the University of Lethbridge.

Gerald Tailfeathers, was one of the first Indigenous Canadians to become a professional painter. His depictions of the “Blood People”, also known as the Kainai people, were brought to life through realism and choice of colours. His work has been described as “romantic, nostalgic, and traditional” due to a majority of his work being in "Studio Style"

References

  1. http://www.fnahec.org/ First Nation & Adult Higher Education Consortium
  2. American Indian Higher Education Consortium Archived 2012-06-14 at the Wayback Machine
  3. González, Roger Geertz; Colangelo, Patricia (2010). "The Development of Indigenous Higher Education: A Comparative Historical Analysis between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S., 1880-2005". Journal of American Indian Education. 49 (3): 3–23. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  4. Red Crow College celebrated their 25th Anniversary
  5. "News Fronts: USA and International". American Libraries. 33 (2): 18–32. February 2002. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  6. "Red Crow College on Blood Reserve destroyed by fire". CBC News Calgary. August 14, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  7. "Red Crow Community College: Rebuilding Canada's first Tribal College". Kasian. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  8. Red Crow Community College
  9. "First Nations Colleges Offer SGU Master's" Archived 2012-03-16 at the Wayback Machine , Tribal College Journal, Volume 16 Spring 2005 Issue No. 3. (retrieved 23 Dec 2010)

See also