Red Crow Community College
Red Crow community is a specialized post secondary institution located on the Blood Reserve in southern Alberta, we are growing new campus facilities, expanding our program of studies, and establishing long-term funds to support operations and underpin learner success. Established in 1986 to offer adult education and academic upgrading for members of the community, Red Crow became the first Tribal College in Canada in 1995. We deliver education in the following areas:
Niitsitapi Foundational Learning & Literacy Program
Adult Academic Upgrading and Education
Workplace Literacy & Pre-Apprenticeship Programs
Blackfoot Language and Cultural Programs
Post Secondary College, 2 + 2 Degree and Technical Programs both on campus and in partnership with institutions across Alberta & Canada
Red Crow’s emerging research plan is about the exchange or transfer of knowledge. Questions of how racism and inequality are dealt with effectively, the symbiosis between education, literacy, and job creation on the Reserve and in the non-reserve community, and how loss of hope and addiction can be eradicated. The results of these research activities at the College will inform the leadership at all levels about ways to redress intergenerational trauma and the legacy of Residential School policies in Canada, identify pathways to success and incorporate ways to heal a community that has deviated from significantly from their values.
Our Vision
Mikai’sto empowers community members to realize their dreams and aspirations so that they may achieve self-realization and self-determination. We are guided by Kainayssinni and the traditions and language or our ancestors. We are a keeping house for the vision of our community.
Our Mission
Mikai’sto collaborates with others regionally, nationally, and internationally to provide a wide range of culturally infused Blackfoot education and training opportunities for Blood Tribe members and beyond. We are inclusive and are leaders in the provision of innovative and transformative Indigenous teaching, learning and research.
Niitsitapi Student
Our students have the ambition and determination to finish their studies, build a career and contribute to their community. What sets them apart is their need to learn through their Indigenous identity. Indigenous students come from unique circumstances: our education must reflect this.
First, our students need a safe haven: a place where they can be comfortable, where they can learn about their culture, their history, and their language. A place they can understand where they come from, what their purpose is and what their future holds.
Our students need access to appropriate learning resources: spaces to gather, collaborate and learn with their peers, their teachers, and Elders. They need spaces that support listening, mutual respect, open discussion, and relationship building. They need a space that grounds them to nature. They need a safe place to learn about themself: their strengths and weaknesses; their hopes and dreams. They need a place to discover my story and the story of my people.
Red Crow Community College is this place. Our College helps students to be proud of who they are. And who they can become. They are Niitsitapi students, and they need a place to succeed.
