Goodnight and I spent a day on Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. The main reservation is in Belcourt, North Dakota and is home to nearly 6,000 members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. Some other members live on off-reservation trust land.
Of particular interest to me was Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC). I work in post-secondary education so I’m always interested in what kind of courses are offered.
TMCC accepts non-native students, but since it’s founding in 1972, its history has been to maintain the cultural and social heritage of its people. That is clearly brought to bear through the curriculum offered at the school.
Along with the basics that one would expect from an institution of higher learning were cultural specific courses that I find extremely interesting: in the English Department, Native American Literature; in the Government Department, Tribal Government; in the History Department, Metis History, Chippewa History and Indian History to 1850; in the Humanities Department, Moccasin Making, Beadwork, Turtle Mountain Ojibwa Traditions, Traditional Use of Plants, and American Indians in the Cinema; in the Language Department, Chippewa/Cree Language, Ojibwa I and II, in the Music Department, Beginning Fiddle, Metis Master Fiddle, Traditional Singing of the Ojibwa, and Advanced Fiddle; in the Poly Sci department, Federal Indian Law, Tribal Government, and Federal Indian Policy; and in the Social Science department, Sociology of Indian Reservations, and Native American Indian Studies.
Along with the courses I would be more familiar with, TMCC offers a Bachelor of Science degree in teacher education and a variety of associate degrees and certificate completion programs.
Dunseith is another city on Turtle Mountain and it hosts a giant turtle made from over 2000 steel wheel rims welded together. Photo op! Welcome to Dunseith, ND and Turtle Mountain!
Goodnight is not in the photo because she made a mad dash to the Visitor Center next to the turtle. Grammy Summer School continues and she has a paper to write about our trip.
There is a virtual tour of the Wheel Turtle available online if you want to see the panoramic view. The Visitor Center building is the one with the flags and flag poles in front. The Wheel Turtle is on the east end of Dunseith, so some of the panorama includes the land outside of town.
More later. The sun is finally out today!
