Red Crow Community College is a college located on the

Kainai Nation The Kainai Nation (or , or Blood Tribe) ( bla, Káínaa) is a First Nations band government in southern Alberta, Canada, with a population of 12,800 members in 2015, up from 11,791 in December 2013. translates directly to 'many chief' (fro ...

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

in southern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada with a campus in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

Partnerships

Red Crow 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. 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.

History

Red Crow Community College was founded in 1986, making it the fourth institution of higher education for First Nations peoples in Canada. It was placed under the direction of the Blood Tribe Education Committee, and started as an adult education center. The

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

at first had two high school courses (UCEPP), one

University of Lethbridge , mottoeng = ''Let there be light'' , type = Public , established = , academic_affiliations = Universities Canada , endowment = $73 million (2019) , chancellor = Charles Weasel ...

course, and a study skills component. On 6 January 1992,

Marie Smallface Marule Marie Smallface Marule (Isstoikamo¹saakii, 1944 – December 31, 2014) was a Canadian academic administrator, activist, and educator. She served as executive director of the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB), chief administrator of the World ...

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 the United States, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are a category of higher education, minority-serving institutions defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Un ...

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. 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. 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.
Kasian
Architecture was involved in designing this project

Curriculum

Red Crow Community College offers diploma and degree programs in partnership with the universities of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

and

. 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 Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

, 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 Bow Valley College is a public, board-governed college operating as a comprehensive community institution under the Post-Secondary Learning Act of Alberta. The branch campuses are: Airdrie, Banff, Canmore, Cochrane, High River, Okotoks, and S ...

. Red Crow Community College offers a master's degree in social work in partnership with the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

commencing in the summer of 2007 with 15 registrants. Red Crow Community College offers a master's degree in education, in partnership with the

Sinte Gleska University Sinte Gleska University (SGU) is a public tribal land-grant university in Mission, South Dakota, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. This is a Brulé Lakota Indian Reservation home to the Sicangu (Burnt Thigh). SGU has an enrollment of 828 full ...

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."First Nations Colleges Offer SGU Master's"
, ''Tribal College Journal,'' Volume 16 Spring 2005 Issue No. 3. (retrieved 23 Dec 2010)

References

External links

Red Crow College