Coast Mountain College (CMTN) is an accredited, publicly-funded

post-secondary Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

educational institution that serves the communities of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

's northwest region. CMTN offers field schools, college access, trades, university credit, health and human services programs. The college is a member of the

University of the Arctic The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arcti ...

network, and

Colleges and Institutes Canada Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan; french: Collèges et instituts Canada) is a national association formed in 1972 to represent the interests of its member institutions to government and industry.Colleges and Institutes Canada (n.d.). ''About ...

(CiCan).

History

The British Columbia Vocational School,

Terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk an ...

began construction in 1965. The school opened in September 1968, with 1968-69 enrollment reaching 295 students. An official opening was held August 11, 1970. Northwest College was established on the site in 1975. The name was soon changed to Northwest Community College (NWCC) and was renamed Coast Mountain College on June 18, 2018. Totem poles and traditional art which reflect the history of the surrounding territories and peoples are displayed on the college campuses and have been commissioned for groups outside the region, including organizations in the United States and China. In 1996 CMTN established the

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

Council to facilitate direct contact with Indigenous communities. The college connected to the Provincial Learning Network (PLNET) in 2003. In 2019 the college transitioned to BCNET's Advanced Network, completing the connection of all BC post-secondary institutions.

Campus

Coast Mountain College (CMTN) has

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-li ...

es in five northwest British Columbia communities: Hazelton;

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

;

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist caval ...

; Smithers; and

. Coast Mountain College (CMTN) serves seven First Nations in Northwest British Columbia:

Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a ...

Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only r ...

Nisga'a The Nisga’a , often formerly spelled Nishga and spelled in the Nisga'a language as (pronounced ), are an Indigenous people of Canada in British Columbia. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The name is a ...

, Haisla,

Gitxsan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan) are an Indigenous people in Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English (: means "people of" and : means "the River of Mist"). Gitksan territory encompasses approxi ...

, Wet'suwet'en, and

Tahltan The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the ''Nahane' ...

and acknowledges the traditional territory its campuses reside on.

Terrace

The main campus sits on 30 acres approximately 5 kilometers from downtown Terrace. Names and signage at the college are bilingual Sm'algyax and English. Buildings include, academic building Waap Sa'mn (House of Spruce), trades building Waap Amgam (House of Cedar), cafeteria and services building Waap Haawk (House of Birch), administration building Waap Sginiis (House of Jackpine) and the 230,000 square foot student housing building Wii Gyemsiga Siwilaawksat (Where learners are content and comfortable.) CMTN unveiled an $18.4 million state-of-the-art renovation to their Waap Amgam (House of Cedar) trades building in September 2018. In September 2019 Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training Melanie Mark, visited the

campus to announce an $18.7 million in provincial funding for the construction of two new 3-storey student residences. On August 31st 2022 a totem pole was raised outside the new Wii Gyemsiga Siwilaawksat building. (Where learners are content and comfortable.) As of 2021 work continues on major projects at Coast Mountain College campus buildings including the top two floors of the main academic building Waap Sa'mn (House of Spruce), the library and student housing with a combined budget of $35 million. At the south end of the campus stands Waap Galts’ap, the 6,000 square foot campus Longhouse. The Longhouse, constructed in 2006 is primarily used for student-centered and cultural activities and there are various events hosted there throughout the year. A satellite campus in the Thornhill suburb of Terrace is located at the Northwest Trades & Employment Training Centre (NTETC).

Prince Rupert

Constructed in 2004 with a $12 million budget, the two building campus of nearly 50,000 square feet is located in downtown Prince Rupert. The campus is home to the world-renowned Applied Coastal Ecology program. The CMTN Prince Rupert campus doubles as a campus for the

University of Northern British Columbia The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is a small, research-intensive public university in British Columbia, Canada. The main campus is located in Prince George, with additional campuses located in Prince Rupert, Terrace, Quesnel, and ...

. The Prince Rupert campus includes a large library, multiple seminar rooms, trades facilities, a Learning Resource Centre, student lounge, 19 classrooms, two computer labs, two science labs and the innovation lab.

Smithers

The current Smithers campus is located on second Avenue and was completed in 2011 at a cost of $17 million. The two-level Gold

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

facility is just under 20,000 square feet and was built with wood, rock and Indigenous art to represent themes of forestry, resource management and Indigenous culture. The Bulkley Valley Learning Centre operates from the Smithers campus.

Hazelton

The Hazelton campus was constructed in 1998 at a cost of $1.3 million, with grand opening held January 16, 1999. The 9,000 square foot building is located at 4815 Swannell Drive serving local communities including Old Hazelton,

New Hazelton New Hazelton is a district municipality on Highway 16 in northwest British Columbia, Canada. It is situated northeast of Terrace and northwest of Smithers and in 2016 had a population of 580 people, a decrease of 12.9% comparing to 2011. New ...

, South Hazelton, Two Mile, Gitanmaax,

Kispiox Kispiox is a Gitxsan (often known also as Gitksan, due to eastern and western dialects) village of approximately 550 in the Kispiox Valley, at the confluence of the Kispiox and Skeena Rivers in British Columbia. Located north of Hazelton, the c ...

, Glen Vowell,

Hagwilget Hagwilget or Hagwilgyet is a First Nations reserve community of the Wet'suwet'en people located on the lower Bulkley River just east of Hazelton in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The community's name means "well-dressed" as in "ostentat ...

Gitsegukla Gitsegukla (also Kitsegeucla or Skeena Crossing) is a Gitxsan community of about 500 at the confluence of the Kitseguecla and Skeena Rivers, approximately 40 km southwest of Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada. The community is on Gitsegukl ...

, Gitanyow, and

Kitwanga Kitwanga or Gitwangak or Gitwangax ("people of the place of rabbits" in the Gitxsan language) is located where the Kitwanga River runs into the Skeena River in British Columbia. A long-standing village before contact, the village is within G ...

Haida Gwaii

Coast Mountain College's

campus is located in the village of

Masset Masset , formerly ''Massett'', is a village in Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Col ...

. The Masset campus moved to a dedicated space in Tahayghen School in 2013.

Organization and Administration

The Coast Mountain College Board of Governors and Educational Council determine appropriate organizational performance. The CMTN Foundation grows and stewards resources to support the college. The First Nations Council provides direct consultation with First Nations in the college region.

Aboriginal

Coast Mountain College (CMTN) serves the people of northwest British Columbia, in a region that includes the lands of the

, Haisla,

, Wet'suwet'en, and

peoples. CMTN through its First Nations Council, has entered into a relationship with the

Wilp Wilxo'oskwhl Nisga'a (“Nisga'a House of Learning”) to promote and enable resident of the Nass Valley region to obtain post-secondary education. In 2020, CMTN added support for Indigenous Students to combat COVID-19. Indigenous students accessing college programs or services are supported by a team of First Nations Access Coordinators. In February 2022, CMTN’s Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art alumna, artist Kristen McKay, was the winner of a Pink Shirt Day design contest held by the First Nations Access Coordinators (FNAC), that is now being distributed across all campuses in the region.

Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art

The Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art focuses on traditional First Nations Pacific Northwest Coast art. Named after the

artist Freda Diesing, one of the first female carvers on the modern Northwest coast, aka Kant Wuss, Skill-kew-wat & Wee-hwe-doasl, who was born in the Sadsugohilanes Clan of the Haida in British Columbia to Flossie and Frank Johnson. Her Haida name, Skill-kew-wat, translates roughly as Magical Little Woman. At the age of 42, she undertook woodcarving apprenticeships under artists including

Robert Davidson (artist) Robert Charles Davidson LL. D. D.F.A. (born 4 November 1946), is a Canadian artist of Haida heritage. Davidson's Haida name is , which means "Eagle of the Dawn". He is a leading figure in the renaissance of Haida art and culture. He lives in ...

. In 2000, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Coast Mountain College. In 2002, she received an National Aboriginal Achievement Award and honorary doctorate from the

. The school was opened in the Fall of 2006 by one of Freda's students Dempsey Bob. The school focuses on carving in the Northern Style, with drawing, painting, art history and tool-making courses supporting the carving component of the school. CMTN offers a certificate and degree program in First Nations Fine Art through the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art at the Terrace campus. This program is the first of its kind in North America, offering accredited courses recognized by the

Emily Carr University of Art and Design Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co ...

. In 2021 Tahltan-Tlingit master carver, and senior advisor to the Freda Diesing School, Dempsey Bob, was one of six artists across Canada to be recognized with a 2021 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts Artistic Achievement Award. Starting in the 2021/22 academic year, students who complete the First Nations Fine Arts Diploma with a GPA of B are eligible for acceptance into the third year of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program at

Scholarships and bursaries

The CMTN Foundation supports students through scholarships and bursaries. The

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

sponsors an Aboriginal Bursaries Search Tool that lists over 680 scholarships, bursaries, and other incentives offered by governments, universities, and industry to support Aboriginal post-secondary participation. Coast Mountain College scholarships for Aboriginal,

and

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United State ...

students include: Awards for Aboriginal Women. Coast Mountain College supports students and rewards success through their CMTN Awards, Bursaries & Scholarships program.

Programs

* Applied Coastal Ecology - The Applied Coastal Ecology (ACE) program operates the vessel Na Malsga Aks, “the story the water tells” as a floating classroom. * Applied Earth & Environmental Studies * Automotive Service * Business Administration * Carpentry * Cosmetology * Criminology * Early Childhood Care & Education * Education Assistant * First Nations Fine Arts * Health Care Assistant * Heavy Mechanical * Millwright * Northern Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing (NCBNP) - Registered Nurse * Professional Cook * Social Service Worker * University Credit * Welding * West Coast Culinary

Notable Alumni and Faculty

* Dempsey Bob, Northwest Coast woodcarver and sculptor of Tahltan and Tlingit First Nations descent * Stan Persky, Canadian writer, media commentator and instructor * Skeena Reece, Canadian First Nations Artist *

Jennifer Rice Jennifer Rice is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia to represent the electoral district of North Coast. She is a member of the BC New Democratic Party. Rice was first elected as a member of l ...

, Canadian politician, Member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria. Members are elected from provincial ...

for North Coast * George Stanley, American-born Canadian poet *

Marie-Lucie Tarpent Marie-Lucie Tarpent (born November 9, 1941) is a French-born Canadian linguist, formerly an associate professor of linguistics and French at Mount Saint Vincent University SVU Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She is known for her descriptive work on ...

, French-born Canadian linguist and professor

References

External links

Coast Mountain CollegeWilp Wilxo'oskwhl Nisga'a
{{Authority control 1975 establishments in British Columbia Educational institutions established in 1975 Terrace, British Columbia Colleges in British Columbia