Mission Statement
Mission
The 窪蹋勛圖厙 provides quality higher education and lifelong educational opportunities for Umonhon (Omaha), Isanti (Santee Dakota) and all learners.
Vision

窪蹋勛圖厙 is envisioned as a comprehensive Tribal College which values service through high quality education. The college is distinctive in serving the diverse people of the Umonhon (Omaha) and Isanti (Santee Dakota) Nations. It features an enriched living and learning environment and year-round operation. The identity of the college is framed by a substantive commitment to multicultural learning.
Institutional programs value and cultivate the creative and productive talents of learners, faculty, and staff, and seek ways to contribute to the self-sufficiency of the Nations served, the well-being of our communities, and the quality of life and development of its learners, faculty, and service areas.
The overall goals of NICC:
- Prepare individuals for their roles as effective tribal members and citizens in a changing and complex environment.
- Integrate, revitalize and preserve Umonhon and Isanti culture throughout the college environment, including but not limited to: history, Umonhon language, Dakota language, games, songs, arts/crafts and the way of life.
- Expose students to and expand the mission driven curriculum in the arts, humanities, communication, sciences, mathematics, social sciences, and Native American studies.
- Build skills for lifelong learning.
- Provide an enhanced, sustainable, positive learning environment.
- Organize, manage, and finance higher education for NICC as a model Tribal College.
- Integrate learning in ways that cultivate an individual's understanding and ability to think about large and complex subjects, formulate and analyze valid concepts, solve problems, and clarify values.
Core Beliefs and Values
The College is committed to the following Core Beliefs:
- We believe in empowering our students with tools for Tribal Nation building, so that our communities can achieve a higher level of sovereignty and self-determination.
- We believe in the cultural preservation, continuity, and revitalization consistent with the Umonhon (Omaha) and Isanti (Santee Dakota) peoples needs, including languages and Tribal knowledge.
- We believe that learning is a life-long process, and the learner-centered atmosphere is of the utmost importance.
- We believe in a safe and healthy working and learning environment that promotes free expression and the exchange of ideas, so learners will be challenged to think holistically, and be able to live responsibly and productively in a Tribal and global society.
In addition, the College is committed to the following Core Values:
|
Umo瞥o Core Value |
Literal English Translation |
NICC English Core Value
|
Literal English Translation |
Dakota Core Value |
|
o篤o ghe see thay no
o篤籀瞟isithe n籀
|
we think about them / keep them in our mind |
student-centered
|
they (the students) stand at the center of the camp circle |
w籀'uspe khuw獺pi hok獺ta 矇na鱉i |
|
wee kay xte
w穩磬夆e xti |
telling the real truth
|
honesty |
truth, sincerity |
滄籀滄勳硃域堯梗 |
|
ou kgee kga
喝域穩域棗 |
helping each other |
loyalty
|
stay with one other |
滄籀紳硃域勳勳鱉勳 |
|
geo thah bah zhe
ki籀篙ha bazhi
|
staying by each other / not abandoning one another
|
|||
|
ou shkou da
繳shko 繳do
|
good ways
|
generosity |
to place something or somebody within your heart |
滄硃堯獺喧棗堯紳硃域梗 |
|
ou thou dom bay
喝喧堯繳餃棗瘺梗
|
consideration / restraint / thoughtfulness
|
humility
|
to humble oneself |
滄棗'繳紳禳勳釵'勳聆梗
|
|
o thay ee yay
籀篙he 穩ye |
speaking softly
|
|
|
|
|
thah ay kee thah
tha矇 kitha |
being kind to each other
|
|||
|
wah no day hee day
滄硃紳籀盥梗堯勳餃梗 |
showing concern for others
|
compassion
|
to be compassionate |
滄籀'喝禳勳餃硃 |
|
thah ay wah thay
tha矇 wathe |
kindness / pity
|
|||
|
ay kee ga
矇域夆勳眶棗 |
alike
|
equality |
alike, working together for same goal |
iy繳ha 籀wa鱉ina na'繳鱉ipi |
|
ee hou thay
穩堯喝喧堯梗 |
getting permission in the right way |
respect
|
respectful or polite |
滄籀聆喝'棗紳勳堯硃 |
|
ghe gthee yay zhou bah
域勳眶喧堯穩梗堝堯喝莉硃 |
self-respect
|
self-respect |
穩堯餃喝'棗紳勳堯硃 |
|
|
o xte
籀篛喧勳 |
honored / important |
honor
|
to honor somebody by words of praise |
wayu'onihan
|
|
ou thou nah zhe
喝喧堯繳紳棗篩堯勳 |
to depend on somebody |
trust
|
trusting someone |
滄硃堯穩聆硃梯勳 |
|
ay thay 矇喧堯梗 |
kin |
kinship
|
family group |
滄籀喧硃域喝聆梗 |
|
wah zhee skah
滄硃堝堯穩坫域硃 |
wise / mindful |
wisdom
|
wisdom |
滄域莽硃梯梗 |
|
Wah kgo dah wah thah ha no
Wak籀盥a wathaho n籀
|
prayerful |
spirituality
|
Dakota spirituality |
Dakh籀d w籀hekiye |
*Note* These core values have been prepared for the spring 2018 update to the Colleges Mission Statement and other materials and approved by official College bodies. Tribal elders Hawatay (Winona Caramony) and Theumba Ghegtha (Thi籀nba Gigth矇/ Joseph Harlan) authorized these translations into Um籀nhon on Friday the 20th and Monday the 23rd of April 2018. It was decided to make the list of values Um籀nhon-centric by putting the core values in Um籀nhon first and including some of the most important values from the Elders teachings. Each Um籀nhon word is spelt in Hawatays preferred Spalding spelling first, and then in standard modified LaFlesche spelling. Similarly, the Dakota language immersion program leader Sid Bad Moccasin III, along with two immersion learners DeWayne Wabasha and Jaylon LaPlante used the list of Um籀nhon-centric core values provided to guide their own list of core values in Dakota. The Dakota spelling used here follows the Lakota Language Consortium (LLC) standard orthography. Kristine Sudbeck and Binah Gordon assisted with documentation.