Volume 21 Fall 2009 Issue No. 1

In This Issue: Celebrating Tribal College Journal's 20th Anniversary

ON CAMPUS

ANA Gives Award to FBC Language School Project

The federal Administration for Native Americans (ANA) recognized Fort Belknap College’s “Speaking White Clay Language Immersion Project” last Fall in a ceremony Sept. 22, 2008, in Washington, DC. Selected out of 211 projects, the project at Fort Belknap College (FBC, Harlem, MT) received the ANA Commissioners Award for outstanding success.

White Clay Immersion School Director Lynette Chandler accepted the award on behalf of the college. FBC Dean of Academics Dr. Deborah His Horse Is Thunder and FBC President Carole Falcon-Chandler also attended. “This award goes back to the 13 students of the White Clay Immersion School and their families,” says Lynette Chandler. “It’s a tribute to our ancestors and recognition of our resilience as a people. It was refreshing to see our hard work and our tribe recognized.”

The Speaking White Clay Language Immersion Project was showcased throughout the 3-day meeting as a replicable model for other tribal communities. Chandler was invited to share with other ANA grantees how the project was developed and road blocks the project overcame.

Prior to the immersion school, only about eight fluent White Clay speakers remained. The project’s purpose is to ensure the survival and vitality of the White Clay language by creating an immersion classroom. Project staff created an eight-member advisory board, consisting of elders and language program staff, which provided ongoing oversight and direction. Two immersion classroom teachers were hired and trained, including methodology.

Project staff translated state curriculum into White Clay. Students were assessed informally in White Clay acquisition and formally in the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), a standardized assessment tool used throughout the nation in elementary schools and Head Start programs. Annual test results for the immersion students have shown they are at or above grade level academically as well as being fluent in White Clay.

Last Fall, the immersion school opened the largest playground in the state on the FBC campus. “We are extremely grateful to the USDA Rural Development for helping us make our dreams come true!” says President Falcon-Chandler. Part of the FBC Master Plan, the playground was funded by $180,000 from USDA Rural Development and by matching funds from various grants.

For more information, visit http://www.fbcc.edu, or call (406) 353-2607.

Stone Child Marks 25th Year of Serving Community

After graduating from Stone Child College (SCC, Box Elder, MT) with an Associate of Science Degree in General Business, Melody Henry (Chippewa Cree) obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Montana State University-Northern. Then in 2004 she returned to become president of her tribal college alma mater.

Obtaining her 2-year degree from SCC gave her the education and the confidence she needed to make it at larger campuses, she says. “I remember walking across the stage at graduation. It gave me such a sense of accomplishment.”

SCC launched its 25th anniversary celebration at the end of April with a week-long series of events that included a feast, a run, an awards ceremony, Native games, graduation on May 8, and a powwow. Henry says she believes the staff feels a strong sense of accomplishment about the college’s growth.

The campus has come a long way since the idea of a community college was first discussed by the Chippewa Cree Tribal Education Commission in the early 1980s, recalls Ed Stamper, who has been involved in the college from its beginnings. Henry calls him the “grandfather of the college.”

Tribal leaders wanted to do something to see that more young people received an education, Stamper says. At that time, scholarships were provided, and classes from other colleges were offered on the reservation. Stamper saw students go to off-reservation campuses and not succeed. Many were like Henry – brilliant people who felt overwhelmed being away from their culture, he says. Tribal leaders decided that a 2-year college on the reservation would be the best answer.

After years of work, the college was chartered on May 17, 1984. Margaret “Peggy” Nagel was installed as the first president. One of the buildings is named “Sitting Old Woman” (Nagel’s Native name) in her honor. Four women students became the first graduating class. In 1989, the college was formally accredited.

Since then, more than 400 people have graduated from the college. It has moved to a new campus; a new gymnasium is being built; and college officials are in the first stages of talks about offering 4-year degrees in the future. Henry says college officials don’t want to overextend themselves.

Stamper says the college has given many students the push and the confidence they need. After attending SCC for their first two years, students often transfer to 4-year schools. “Many have obtained master’s degrees; two have doctorates. We have a doctor and lawyer among the graduates,” says Stamper, who is now the college’s director of foundations and research.

In 2002, the college moved to a new campus. Henry says the campus can boast that it is debt-free. Henry and Stamper say the college makes special efforts to serve the needs of the Chippewa Cree people. Day care services are provided; special transportation is offered; there is free tutoring; and last year – when gas was $4 per gallon – the college converted to a four-day week so students could conserve on fuel. Staff and faculty work one-on-one with students to establish their goals for their academic and personal lives.

While there are still many students in their 50s, Henry says, the average age of students has dropped from 30 to about 26. Students coming out of high school immediately now attend SCC, she says. When Henry went to senior night at Rocky Boy and Box Elder high schools this spring, everyone told her they planned to enroll at Stone Child.

Most SCC students come from Box Elder, Rocky Boy, or Havre, she says. To make the college more attractive to younger students, the college is planning to build dormitories. There is also the possibility of a basketball team, she says. Upon graduation, many students transfer to Montana State University- Northern so the two schools are working to make the transition easier. Often students take three courses at Stone Child and one at Northern, which helps prepare them for Northern.

Henry says she believes the tribal college is “a bright spot in this community... Life can be hard out here,” she says. “We have high unemployment and many social issues, but Stone Child is a beacon of hope... I’ve seen people come here with no income, people receiving government assistance, and they become leaders of our tribal council,” Stamper says. Students try to give back to the community, Henry says.

This article was reprinted by permission from Havre Daily News. For more information on Stone Child College visit http://www.stonechild.edu

COLLEGE CONSCIOUS. During a college awareness program in spring 2009, Sitting Bull College (SBC, Fort Yates, ND) Student Services Department hosted 112 junior high and 203 high school students from the Standing Rock Reservation. The program was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education in association with the South Dakota Department of Indian Education. “The goal of the program is to get high school students interested in a college career,” Julie Desjarlais, vice president of SBC’s Student Services, says. “For the younger students, it’s about showing them possibilities of getting a higher education beyond high school.” Photo by Ron Walters

Blackfeet College Holds 17th Annual Celebration

Blackfeet Community College (BCC) held its 17th Annual Days of the Blackfeet community event April 20 through April 25, 2009.

Daily activities included historical and contemporary Blackfeet workshops, community presentations, student presentations, K-12 activities, community feeds, an art show, film festival, and a non-traditional career fair.

BCC kicked off the week by announcing plans for a new, “green” math and science building, which might be LEED certified. Blackfeet tribal elders dedicated the site. A workshop for the general public explained the importance of planning for future development and construction that is energy efficient, while reducing environmental impact. Also provided were alternative energy workshops paid for in part by a grant from the Montana Department of Commerce in conjunction with the Montana Department of Labor.

At the celebration, a panel addressed Blackfeet rights in Glacier National Park. Marking the 100th anniversary of the national park, BCC students reenacted the 1896 Glacier Park negotiations based on their research.

Other researchers unveiled the Bear River Massacre website. Participants also learned about land issues, water rights, and treaty rights. The Days of the Blackfeet closed with a powwow.

This information was compiled from an article by Helen J. Augare published in the Glacier Reporter. For information on BCC, visit http://www.bfcc.org, or call (406) 338-5441.

NTC Graduates Research Piñon Pine Radioactivity

With funding from two Department of Defense instrumentation grants secured over the past 3 years, the chemistry and environmental science programs at Navajo Technical College (NTC, Crownpoint, NM) have acquired equipment to study genetics and environmental chemistry.

Danielson Barbone (Diné) is 2009 Student-of-the-Year, graduate of NTC’s Geographical Information Technology program, and is a National Science Foundation student research intern. Earlier this year, he extracted deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from piñon pine (Pinus edulis) trees that are commonly found throughout the Colorado Plateau and other parts of the southwestern United States. DNA is the blueprint for almost all life on earth. It is found within all organisms, from whales to the peregrine falcon, to the grizzly bear, and man.

Malanie Begay (Diné), Environmental Science and Natural Resources Program graduate, has tested the extracted DNA using electrophoresis techniques to ensure that the extracted DNA is of sufficient quantity and quality.

Eight control sites were established on the Continental Divide, Chuska Mountains, Carrizo Mountains, and the Defiance Plateau. From each site, 30 individual samples were collected and examined.

One of the sites is an abandoned uranium mine that has piñon pine growth. This site is radioactive. When tissue from any organism is exposed to the site, the tissue is bombarded by radiation, and mutations could occur in the DNA sequences. The potential for mutations increases the longer the organism is in contact with a radioactive source and also with the magnitude of the radioactive source.

The genetics and environmental research looked at the radioactive site trees and compared them to the nonradioactive trees (control sites) and compared the number and frequency of mutations occurring in both the mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA. Mitochondrial DNA evolves at a much slower rate than chloroplast DNA. Thus researchers can see if mutations occur within DNA differentially and can correlate this with tree age and proximity to the uranium mine tailings. In total, 288 trees were analyzed, including 48 trees from the abandoned uranium mine site.

The research work was completed in June 2009; it was conducted as part of a fellowship awarded to Steven Chischilly (Diné), Environmental Science and Natural Resources instructor and Science Department chair at NTC. Begay received a student scholarship recipient under the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship administered by the American Indian College Fund.

Chischilly and Begay have begun to present their work at various national conferences, and Chischilly intends to publish his findings soon.

In related news, NTC has acquired a liquid scintillation counter (LSC) that measures the radioactivity of samples. The equipment will be part of the environmental chemistry lab at NTC.

When an engineer installed the Perkin-Elmer Tri-Carb 2810 in the chemistry classroom/lab, he said that NTC is the second college/university in New Mexico to have the instrument. In New Mexico, most of the LSC instruments are located in the Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories.

For more information, contact Steven Chischilly at (505) 786-4147, or by email at schischilly@navajotech.edu See information on Navajo Technical College at http://www.navajotech.edu

People in the News

LIFETIME COMMITMENT. Carole Falcon-Chandler was honored with an honorary doctorate degree. Photo by Helmbrecht Photography

• Fort Belknap College President Carole Falcon-Chandler (Gros Ventre) received an honorary doctorate from Montana State University’s School of Education on May 9, 2009, in recognition of her lifetime commitment to education. The American Indian College Fund also presented her with the Tribal College President’s award in March. (See separate story below.) Falcon-Chandler has devoted her professional career to higher education. She began working in education as a TRIO Director at Dawson Community College in Glendive, MT, in 1974. She started at FBC as the dean of students in 1992 and became president in 2000.

• Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC, Cloquet, MN) named Stephanie Hammitt as chief financial officer. She is responsible for all fiscal, accounting, and business functions of the college. Prior to joining the college administration in January 2009, Hammitt was the comptroller for the Fond du Lac Reservation for more than 6 years and, prior to that, the reservation’s internal auditor. She holds a Bachelor’s of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. A resident of Cloquet for most of her life, she is a former chair and member of the Fond du Lac Tribal College Board of Directors. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College serves more than 2,700 students in credit courses annually and is a member of both the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC).

• Scott Davis (Hunkpapa Lakota/ Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) has said his work at United Tribes Technical College (UTTC, Bismarck, ND) will help him succeed as executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, a position he assumed in May 2009. Davis holds an associate of arts degree from Haskell Indian Junior College and bachelor’s and master’s degrees, the latter in management, both from the University of Mary in North Dakota. The North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission is the liaison between the governor`s office and the tribal nations of North Dakota. Two of his positions at UTTC were development officer and wellness activities coordinator.

BIG PLANS. Eugene Big Back, Jr., hopes to become a restaurateur. Photo by Kathleen Beartusk

• Eugene Big Back, Jr. (Northern Cheyenne) of Busby, MT, is the recipient of the 2008-2009 American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) Scholarship. Big Back, a sophomore, is vice president of marketing for the newly revived AIBL chapter at Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC, Lame Deer, MT). Big Back, 49, plans to continue his education to earn a Bachelor’s of Science in Business. He wants to start a restaurant or pizzeria on the reservation and to employ tribal members who want to live and retire near their homes, as he plans to do. “Unemployment on the reservation is so high that any kind of jobs will help,” he says. He has already invested 6,000 hours in earning a Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training Certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor for the occupation of cooking. AIBL is the only American Indian nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated solely to empowering business students. Two scholarships are awarded nationally each year.

• Elma Marie Davis Wilkie, “Waabishkibinesik” (White Thunderbird Woman), 86, of Belcourt, ND, died in April 2009. She was a past curriculum developer and instructor at Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC, Belcourt, ND). Wilkie compiled information on the history, treaties, languages, and heritage of the Pembina Ojibway and helped to incorporate the information into TMCC courses. Never completely retiring from the college, Wilkie continued to help with classes that presented research projects at the AIHEC student conferences. TMCC sponsors a special traditional women’s dance at the Turtle Mountain powwow each year in honor of Wilkie. She is survived by all six of her children, adopted children, 15 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

• Julene P. Kennerly, dean of academics at Blackfeet Community College (BCC, Browning, MT), was honored by The Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI). The 20 fellows were recognized for completing the FSLI leadership development program. The FSLI is a 2-year program designed for experienced leaders in academia, government, and industry. The FSLI is a program of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. For more information on the FSLI, visit http://www.fsli.org

MS. AIHEC 2009. Jenna Skunkcap (Blackfeet) of UTTC was selected to represent AIHEC in 2009-10. Photo by Rachael Marchbanks.

SHE RULES. Allison Steinmeyer (Comanche) of Comanche Nation College traded in last year's Ms. AIHEC title and crown to become the new president of the AIHEC Student Congress. Photo by Patty Talahongva.

AIHEC Student Leaders Selected at Conference

The tribal colleges in Montana hosted the 28th Annual American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) Student Conference in March 2009 in Missoula, MT. Students competed in a host of competitions during the conference including the annual Knowledge Bowl, Business Bowl, Science Bowl, and Art Contest.

The annual Mr. and Ms. AIHEC competition produced two student ambassadors: Jenna Skunkcap (Blackfeet) of United Tribes Technical College and Anthony Sylvester Valella (Hidatsa, Mandan, Arikara) of Oglala Lakota College. The students were selected based on their academic records, cultural involvement, personal vision, and community service.

The AIHEC Student Congress (ASC) elected officers and regional representatives to serve through March 2010. They are: President Allison Steinmeyer, Comanche Nation College; Vice President Sean Soukkala, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College; Treasurer Blue Tarpalechee, Institute of American Indian Arts; Secretary Valerie Collins, Institute of American Indian Arts; Historian LaVinia Snowball, Little Priest Tribal College; Sergeant-at-Arms Nicholas Begay, Institute of American Indian Arts; Great Lakes Representative Lynda Morrison, Leech Lake Tribal College; Southwest Representative Kylie Roanhorse, Institute of American Indian Arts; Midwest Representative Nathan Dunn; United Tribes Technical College; and Mountain/ Pacific Representative Regina Wilson- Johnny, Northwest Indian College.

SBC Sends Delegates To National 4-H Conference

The Sioux County Extension Service in association with Sitting Bull College (SBC, Fort Yates, ND) sent a delegation of four high school students to the National 4-H Conference in Chevy Chase, MD, in March 2009. Sponsored by the National 4-H Council and hosted annually by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the conference is considered by many to be the flagship youth development opportunity.

Led by Sioux County Extension Agent Sue Isbell, the SBC delegation was the first one sent by Sioux County. Over 100 colleges and universities with land grant status were invited to send small student delegations ranging in age from 15-19 years of age.

The high school students representing SBC included Derek Murphy of Porcupine, ND, and Thomas Ridley, Samantha Ridley, and Mercedes Ridley, all from McLaughlin, SD.

The annual conference expands on 4-H’s essential elements of Independence, Belonging, Mastery, and Generosity by allowing youth to master skills to make positive life choices; participate in decision- making processes; act responsibly; positively influence their communities; and develop into informed, active, engaged citizens.

During roundtable discussions, the delegates explored specific objectives of President Barack Obama’s Administration and determined how 4-H programs can support these objectives and develop young people to meet the challenges of the future.

For information about the National 4- H Conference or the Sitting Bull College student delegation, contact Sue Isbell at the Sioux County Extension Office by phone at (701) 854-3412 or by email at sue.isbell@ndsu.edu

American Indian College Fund Honors 34 Students

The American Indian College Fund honored 34 American Indian scholarship recipients at its 2008-09 Student of the Year reception at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) Student Conference in Missoula, MT, on March 30, 2009.

American Indian College Fund President and CEO Richard B. Williams also presented Carole Falcon-Chandler, president of Fort Belknap College in Harlem, MT, with the Tribal College President Award for her contributions to American Indian education during her career. Falcon-Chandler received a $1,000 award.

The Students of the Year each received a $1,000 scholarship from the Castle Rock Foundation. The students are:

Sarah Teeple, Social Science, Bay Mills Community College
Joseph Still Smoking, Forestry, Blackfeet Community College
Jani Adams, Liberal Arts, Cankdeska Cikana Community College
Buster Leider, General Studies, Chief Dull Knife College
Kristen Waukau, Biological Sciences, College of Menominee Nation
Janice Wilson, Nursing, Diné College
Joni Cabrera, Social Work, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Lyndsey Stepetin, Psychology, Fort Belknap College
Kathryn Roper, Business, Fort Berthold Community College
Sudi Pipe, Human Services, Fort Peck Community College
Tyler Sessions, American Indian Studies, Haskell Indian Nations University
Robert Brower, Electrical Studies, Ilisagvik College
Toneh Chuleewah, Museum Studies, Institute of American Indian Arts
Georgenia Earring-Chosa, Environmental Science, Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College
Suzette Am, Small Business Management, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College
Tallie Large, Liberal Arts, Leech Lake Tribal College
Johnna Snell, Business, Little Big Horn College
William Bass, Liberal Arts, Little Priest Tribal College
Daniel Barbone, Geographical Information Systems, Navajo Technical College
Eleanor Baxter, General Studies, Nebraska Indian Community College
Montelongo Junaluska, Arts and Science, Northwest Indian College
Samantha Janis, Social Work, Oglala Lakota College
Santino Medina, Business, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College
Jessie McDonald, Business, Salish Kootenai College
Lynn Burnette, Jr., Human Services, Sinte Gleska University
Charlene Vigil, Dakota Studies, Sisseton Wahpeton College Maxine Thunderhawk, Business Administration, Sitting Bull College
Alicia Montoya, Pre-Engineering, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Jodi Four Colors, General Studies, Stone Child College
Teresa Vavages, Administration, Tohono O'odham Community College
Bonita DeCoteau, Biology, Turtle Mountain Community College
Jenna Skunkcap, Elementary Education, United Tribes Technical College
Linda Basswood, Native Studies, White Earth Tribal and Community College.

With its credo “Educating the Mind and Spirit,” the Fund is the nation’s largest provider of private scholarships for American Indian students, providing 5,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education. For more information about American Indian College Fund, visit http://www.collegefund.org

IAIA Archives Becoming Accessible via Website

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA, Santa Fe, NM) has joined the Rocky Mountain Online Archive (RMOA), a regional consortium website hosted by the University of New Mexico. RMOA publishes specialized guides that provide researchers with detailed descriptions of archival collections from 30 academic and cultural institutions including the University of Colorado, Palace of Governors, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. This collaboration and publishing of archival finding aids represents a major step toward providing public access to the IAIA archives.

The archives of IAIA contain institutional records, manuscripts, audio recordings, films, photographs, oversize materials, and historical matter related to the rich history of the nation’s only school devoted to the study of contemporary Native arts. The important events of the IAIA Museum and the Contemporary Native Arts Movement, as well as IAIA’s role in developing a Native Arts education curriculum, are recorded within these tangible pieces of history.

The Rocky Mountain Online Archive is directed by representatives from the Collaborative Digitization Program in Colorado, the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming, and University Libraries at the University of New Mexico.

For more information about the archives of IAIA or about this project, call archivist Ryan Flahive at (505) 424- 5743 or email rflahive@iaia.edu. For more information about the IAIA, visit http://www.iaia.edu. More information about the Rocky Mountain Online Archive can be found at http://www.rmoa.unm.edu

LLTC Trustees Elected, Banks Appears in Movie

LLTC BOARD. Members of the Board of Trustees are (front row, from left): Bonnie Rock, Shari Bebeau, Dr. Priscilla Day, Gary Charwood, and Dennis Banks. Back row: Bernice Pemberton, Jerry Morgan, and Student Senate Representative Mike Fairbanks. Photo by Mark Lewer

On April 25, 2009, the Board of Trustees of Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC, Cass Lake, MN) welcomed two new members and elected new officers. Gary Charwood and Dr. Priscilla Day, both enrolled members of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, were sworn in by Leech Lake Chairman Arthur “Archie” LaRose. Charwood is the program manager for Leech Lake’s Youth Division, and Day is a professor in the University of Minnesota- Duluth’s Department of Social Work.

Day was elected to a 2-year term as board chairperson. Bonnie Rock, Gary Charwood, and Bernice Pemberton will serve as vice chair, treasurer, and secretary, respectively.

Also in April, Georgina Lightning presented an on-campus screening of the feature film “Older Than America,” which includes Leech Lake Tribal College Board of Trustees member Dennis Banks as an actor in the film. The movie is a suspense thriller set in a northern Minnesota town located on the outskirts of an American Indian reservation. The film has won over 16 awards and was produced by Indigenous people. It addresses historical trauma in Indigenous communities.

For information on Leech Lake Tribal College, contact Kyle Erickson, director of advancement at (218) 335-4286.

LCOOCC Goes Solar, Supports Boys/Girls Club

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College (LCOOCC, Hayward, WI) celebrated its new solarelectric system in early spring. The system was received with an Ojibwe blessing, and prayer bags were fastened to each of the four corners of the solar array.

Dan Sullivan, who conducted the “smudging,” was one of the renewable energy program students who helped put together the photovoltaic (PV) system. He said, “We harness this gift to help us in good ways and with good intent. We humbly ask the grandmother whose spirit lives within this energy to direct us back into less destructive ways.”

Other students who worked on the project included Bill Barber, John McCallister, Matt Soulier, Ken Galloway, Jeremy Humphrey, Adam Fear, John Andrews, Elissa DeCora, and Steve Melby.

Last fall, Steve Kozak’s Solar Electric Systems students began the installation of the solar-electric generating system that supplies the main campus operations; it went online in March. The project cost of $26,000 was funded by NASA, AIHEC, and the LCOOCC Ag Endowment.

Kozak, renewable energy faculty member, says the 4.2 kilowatt solarelectric system is now the largest solarelectric system in Sawyer County. “Even though it does not produce enough electrical power to supply all the electrons that LCOOCC needs to be electrically self-sufficient, it nevertheless is a significant down payment toward this end,” he says.

According to Kozak, the solar-electric system is part of a greater vision for sustainably produced renewable energy for the community. “Our desired green energy future includes more PV systems on rooftops of homes and businesses, along with small- and large-scale wind turbines, and small hydro and bio-fueled co-generation facilities distributing their generating surpluses locally,” Kozak says.

In other news, four staff members at the tribal college presented $400 to LCO Boys and Girls Club Director Karen Harden at the youth center in April. The donation resulted from a fundraiser for the local center. LCOOCC President Dr. Danielle Hornett says the staff donation is just one indicator of the college’s close connection to the community.

“The college and the Boys and Girls Club have common ground,” she says. “Part of our mission is to reflect the values and education needs in our tribal communities to ensure a sustainable future, and our youth are our future. We both provide learning environments with opportunities to participate in traditional Ojibwe culture and create supportive, healthy environments where individuals can be successful.”

Jason Sanders, LCOOCC assistant to the academic dean and also a LCO Boys and Girls Club Board member, organized the staff fundraiser. He says “It’s an important relationship for college staff.” He adds, “Everything about the future of the Ojibwe culture rests with our young people, and if we can help, we will.”

Also in April, the City of Hayward Mayor Thomas J. Duffy proclaimed May 18-22, 2009, as LCO Ojibwe Community College Week. The LCO 2009 commencement and feast were held on May 21st.

For more information on the college, contact LCOOCC at (715) 634-4790, x157, or visit http://www.lco.edu. For more information on the Boys and Girls Club, call Karen Harden at (715) 634-4030.

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