Back to Blue Quills HomepageEMPOWERING FIRST NATIONS STUDENTS IN FIRST NATIONS SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
PHILOSOPHY, POLICY, AND PRACTICE
Blue Quills history begins in the days of government sponsored church operated residential schools. Originally located at Saddle Lake reserve, the school was moved to its present location in 1931, serving students from 12 First Nations communities in the Athabasca administrative region. In 1971 when a local committee of parents and leaders took over the operation of the school, the federal government predicted that the place would be out of business within six months. Almost 40 years later Blue Quills is thriving, growing, and expanding with a “anyone can do it” attitude. In 1996 the land was officially designated as reserve lands, opening opportunities for development. Blue Quills First Nations College is currently owned and operated by the seven member nations: Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Cold Lake First Nations, Frog Lake First Nations, Heart Lake First Nation, Kehewin Cree Nation, Saddle Lake Cree Nation and Whitefish (Goodfish) Lake First Nation #128.
Blue Quills First Nations College has been serving the post-secondary needs of surrounding communities since 1975 when the Morningstar program was offered by the University of Alberta. To ensure that local students had access to post-secondary programs while maintaining the support network provided by family and community, the College brokered programs from other institutions. Several of our graduates acknowledge Blue Quills as an important component of their success when they attended other institutions to complete a transfer program or pursue advanced studies.
The current staff at Blue Quills are residential school survivors and/ or their descendants. Most have also had experience as students in public post-secondary institutions and have returned to Blue Quills to give something back to the community, but also to make a difference; to put into the educational experience what was taken out by residential schools and public institutions that did not honour our knowledge and identity.
As expressed in the philosophy, vision, and mission statements, the College is guided by the Natural Law: Love, Honesty, Sharing, and Determination. Decisions and programs are measured in alignment with these statements. Relationships are key to the human experience, and at Blue Quills we focus on maintaining and honouring the dignity and integrity of the human being.
Our first priority is service to the student and the community, with locally developed certificate and diploma programs we are confident that we offer more unique learning opportunities. The content of courses is framed by traditional knowledge and relevance to contemporary community experience and expectations. Students are offered the active and personal support of coordinators, instructors, counsellors, and Elders to assist in dealing with the diversity of challenges they face in addition to the academic workload.
A process oriented, experiential classroom allows students to draw on prior knowledge and personalize the learning. We are confident that our wholistic approach to honouring and addressing the needs of the whole person (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual) ensures that students receiving a more balanced educational experience at Blue Quills than they would at other institutions. The cohort approach to programming ensures that students learn from the social experience as well as the intellectual/ academic, building on strengths in themselves and their communities.
Programs are student centred, with cooperative and collaborative learning models that challenge those who have studied exclusively in the conventional competitive western model. We are also challenging the conventional institutional approach of exclusivity, and entering into partnerships where our knowledge will be respected and honoured. For example, details of a block transfer for the Blue Quills Leadership & Management program into a Bachelor of Administration are being finalized with Athabasca University.
To support organizational growth, staff are also supported in pursuing training to ensure continuous quality improvement. Professional development includes group as well as individual opportunities, with a focus on team building for Board and staff in annual retreats, and on-going regular professional development. Staff are encouraged to enrol in courses offered at Blue Quills advancing their credentials, and to arrange mentoring situations to expand our instructor pool.
Culture is an integral part of the learning experience. Blue Quills incorporates traditional knowledge in the classroom, and hosts several ceremonies throughout the year. Students are encouraged to participate in regular sweat lodges and sweetgrass ceremonies, as well as the annual chicken dances, round dances, night lodge and give away ceremonies. A resident Elders assists in teaching and counselling students, as well as coordinating the cultural events and involvement of local Elders in special activities. Several of the original Board members are frequently hosted at gatherings to reflect on the growth of Blue Quills through the generations, and the commitment to the visions of our ancestors.