Leech Lake Tribal College

Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) is an accredited, two-year, public, non-profit higher education institution awarding associate degrees and certificates.

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe established Leech Lake Tribal College in July 1990. For two years, courses were offered in extension from the University of Minnesota at Duluth, Bemidji State University, Itasca and Brainerd Community Colleges.

The college had its first graduate of the Associate of Arts program in Anishinaabe Language and Culture in the spring of 1993. In 1994, the college was accorded status as a Land Grant Institution by the United States Congress, and that year seventeen graduates completed their degrees. By the spring of 1995, the number of graduates had increased to twenty-four, and in May 2010 LLTC honored 48 graduates, its largest class to date.

Today, Leech Lake Tribal College includes approximately 70 faculty, staff, administrators, and 250 students. Most students come from the Leech Lake and Red Lake Reservations, and approximately 8% of the student population is non-Indian. The college was accredited as a post-secondary vocational school in 1993. Full accreditation status was granted by the North-Central Association on September 26, 2006.

In 2010 LLTC was ranked by the Washington Monthly College Guide as #7 two-year college in the nation among 600 other similar institutions.^[1]

In 2017 LLTC was ranked #1 community college in the nation according to Wallet Hub's annual survey of over 700 two-year schools. The personal finance site looked at 14 metrics in determining its rankings, including cost of in-state tuition, student-faculty ratio, graduation rates and job placement rates.^[2]

Programs

LLTC offers programs of study including:

• Liberal Education
• Liberal Education with a STEM Emphasis
• Indigenous Leadership
• Business
• Early Childhood Education
• Law Enforcement
• Building and Construction Trades, including Residential Carpentry and Construction Electricity

Location

LLTC is located on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in north central Minnesota, three miles northwest of the town of Cass Lake. The campus houses two academic wings, a library, two technical training buildings, and a community garden, among other facilities. The campus covers approximately 22 acres of leased land.

LLTC is also the administrator of Red Lake Nation College as it undergoes accreditation processes. RLNC is an extension site of LLTC and graduates receive their diplomas conferred by LLTC.

History

The Leech Lake Tribal Council established LLTC in July 1990. For two years, courses were offered in extension from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Bemidji State University, Itasca Community College and Central Lakes College (then known as Brainerd Community College). In the fall quarter of 1992, LLTC began offering its own courses leading toward the Associate of Arts and the Associate of Applied Science degrees.

In 1994 the College was accorded status as a Land Grant Institution by the United States Congress, and that year seventeen graduates completed their Associate of Arts degrees and Associate of Applied Science degrees. By the spring of 1995, the number of graduates had increased to twenty-four. The 2007–08 academic year saw record student enrollment; the 2008 graduating class was the largest in LLTC history.^[3]

Campus

LLTC originally held classes in available buildings throughout the city of Cass Lake and towns throughout the Leech Lake Reservation, including a log cabin adjacent to MN HWY 2, an old church, and random houses in Cass Lake.

The College moved classrooms and administration to the former Cass Lake High School building in the fall of 1994. In 2005, the College moved to its current location 3 miles west of Cass Lake. In 2015, the College opened a $2.7 million community library, Bezhigoogahbow Library, named after the College founder and first President, Larry P. Aitken.

Today, LLTC includes approximately 70 faculty, staff, administrators, and 250 full-time students. Most students come from the Leech Lake Reservation and surrounding reservations in northern Minnesota. Approximately 8% of the students enrolled at the College are non-Native American.^[4]

Partnerships

The College was accredited as a vocational school in 1993. The College was awarded candidacy status with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association in 2002, and in April 2006 the Higher Learning Commission bestowed full accreditation on LLTC.

LLTC is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC). LLTC generally serves geographically isolated populations.^[5]

The LLTC is a member of the National Association of Land Grant Institutions. The LLTC receives its base funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs under the authority of the Tribally Controlled Community College Act (Title I, P.L. 95-471).

The College has articulation agreements and partnerships with Bemidji State University, Augsburg College, University of Minnesota Duluth, Metropolitan State University, Hibbing Community College, University of North Dakota, and others.

Governance

The Leech Lake Tribal Council adopted the original LLTC Charter in 1999 and established an independent Board of Trustees. In 2003, Leech Lake Tribal College separated from the Tribal Council and assumed its own accounting and human resources functions. The IRS has granted 501(c)(3) status to LLTC as a non-profit educational entity. While separately incorporated today, LLTC still enjoys a vital relationship with tribal government and receives about 11% of its annual funding from the Leech Lake Tribal Council.

Athletics

LLTC competes as the Lakers within the Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Presidents

• Raymond Burns
• Erma Vizenor
• Ginny Carney
• Don Day
• Leah Carpenter
• James Robertson
• Larry P. Aitken

Boards of Trustees

Current

• Arnold Dahl-Wooley, Gary Charwood, Rebecca Graves, Rochelle Pemberton, Lenny Fineday, Yvonne Wilson, Patricia Broker, Dennis Banks (honorary)

2009-2012

• Pracilla Day, Bonnie Rock, Bernice Pemberton, Gary Charwood, Dennis Banks, Jerry Morgan, Shari Bebeau-Cavitt, Rose Robinson

2005-2008

• Yvonne Wilson, Vikki Howard, Lenore Barsness, Shari Bebeau-Cavitt, John Herrera, Judy Hanks, Dennis Banks

2003-2005

• Roger Aitken, Edward Fairbanks, Esther Bogda, Vernon Barness, Yvonne Wilson, Clarice White, Nadine Chase

2002-2003 (Tribal Council)

• Eli Hunt, Linda Johnston, Peter White, Lyman Losh, Richard Robinson

1998-2002 (Tribal Council)

• Eli Hunt, Linda Johnston, Myron Ellis, Jack Seelye, Alfred Fairbanks

1994-1998 (Tribal Council)

• Alfred Pemberton, Jim Michaud, Myron Ellis, Jack Seelye, Alfred Fairbanks

1990-1994 (Tribal Council)

• Dan Brown, Jim Michaud, Alfred Fairbanks, Gladys Drouillard, Myron Ellis

Notable Staff, Faculty, and Alumni

• Larry P. Aitken, founder and first president
• Nicole Buckanaga, alum, Faculty, Social Justice Advocate
• Virginia "Ginny" Carney, faculty and LLTC President, author and scholar
• Charles Dolson, J.D. alum, Executive Director, Red Lake Nation
• Elaine Fleming, Arts and Humanities Department Chair, Former Mayor City of Cass Lake, Minnesota
• Daniel Gazelka, alum, Chief of Police, City of Clearbrook
• Leslie Harper, alum, Founder Nigaane Ojibwe Immersion School
• Annie Humphrey, student, recording artist
• Robert "Bob" Jourdain, Ojibwe language instructor, language activist and creative writer
• Scott Richard Lyons, former faculty, University of Michigan professor, writer and critic
• Michael Price, faculty, ethnobiologist
• Erma Vizenor, LLTC President, Former White Earth Nation Tribal Chairperson
• Kenneth Washington, alum, Chief of Police, Leech Lake Tribal Police

References

External links

• Leech Lake Tribal College
• Bureau of Indian Education National Directory

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