University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills (University nn Blue Quills, formerly Blue Quills Education Centre and Blue Quills First Nations College (BQFNC)) is a

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

owned and operated university in Canada, the first of its kind in the country. The university is jointly owned by seven First Nation band governments: Beaver Lake, Cold Lake, Frog Lake, Whitefish Lake, Heart Lake, Kehewin, and Saddle Lake. The university is not provincially chartered, unlike all other

universities in Alberta Universities in Canada are established and operate under provincial and territorial government charters or are directed by First Nations bands or by federal legislation. Most public universities in the country are members of Universities Canad ...

but instead incorporated by federal statute. The institution was founded as an

Indian residential school The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The scho ...

in the 1930s before being occupied by a protest movement in 1970 and then transferred to indigenous control in 1971. It was declared a university on September 1, 2015. Blue Quills is a member of the National Association of Indigenous Institutes of Higher Learning and the First Nation Adult and Higher Education Consortium, a non-profit organization in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

, which coordinates the efforts of its members to provide quality adult and higher education, controlled entirely by people of the First Nations. The university hosts an annual cultural camp in May.

History

BQFNC was the first Indigenous controlled and operated post secondary educational institution in Canada. The brick school was built in 1931 on Blue Quills First Nation Indian Reserve and operated as a Blue Quills Indian Residential School until 1970. In July 1970 it was taken over by community members through peaceful protest and occupation. Negotiations with then Minister of Indian Affairs,

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

, took place and agreement was signed on July 31, 1970, transferring the operations of Blue Quills to the Native Education Council. The Blue Quills First Nation College (Blue Quills Education Centre) opened in September 1971. In November 2000, the college was accredited by th
First Nations Accreditation Board
In September 2015 the Blue Quills First Nation College became University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills, a name which includes both

Dene The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ...

and

Cree language Cree ( ; also known as Cree–Montagnais language, Montagnais–Naskapi language, Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 people across Canada in 2021, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to ...

words for the school.

Scholarships and bursaries

University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills scholarships for Aboriginal and

students include: Theodore R. Campbell Scholarship.

References

{{authority control Universities in Alberta Indigenous universities and colleges in North America First Nations education in Canada Community colleges in Canada Universities and colleges established in 1971 1971 establishments in Alberta First Nations in Alberta

History

Scholarships and bursaries

See also

References