Lethbridge College unveils new Indigenous strategy: Niitsitapi

After two years of planning and more than 1,800 points of feedback, Lethbridge College launched its Niitsitapi strategy Thursday: “Coming Together in a Holistic Way.”

The Niitsitapi strategy is part of Lethbridge College’s commitment to truth and reconciliation. The goal is to make sure the college community works together for an inclusive, diverse, engaged and successful education.

“It’s about being in the moment, slowing down and listening to our elders, our community members, our leaders, everyone in our community just to say: how we can move forward together?” said Shandra Webber, manager of Indigenous Services at Lethbridge College.

The strategy is made up of five overarching themes: governance and community; Indigenous students; curriculum and pedagogy; collective environment; and research and innovation.

“We are located on traditional Blackfoot Confederacy, and for us that means that we have a responsibility to educate not only our Indigenous students, but that we are educating our community and that we are partnering with the Indigenous community,” said Paula Burns, president and CEO of Lethbridge College.

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Armond Duckchief, a Lethbridge College alumnus and Siksika First Nations council member, believes that having the college recognize that is a good first step.

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“Having Lethbridge College recognize that as an important factor to help assist the students in wanting to pursue post-secondary education, and making it more welcoming and engaging,” he said.

The strategy is the first of its kind at Lethbridge College. It was initiated in 2019, but faced a bit of a hurdle when the pandemic hit.

“We didn’t have access to our Indigenous communities,” said Burns.

“That face-to-face communication was very important to us.”

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Development included internal and external engagement sessions with college employees, a student survey and sessions with external Indigenous community partners.

Webber also hopes that this strategy will also help non-Indigenous students understand what it means to reside on traditional Blackfoot territory.

“It’s about building that cultural competency,” she said.

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Burns said the college is already doing a lot of what is in the strategy but she believes there’s always room for growth.

“For me that speaks to the Indigenous way of learning and being. It’s a circle of learning. It’s ongoing. It’s like the teepee. We pass it onto others.”

The framework of the Niitsitapi strategy is modeled after a teepee ring, a significant symbol to the Blackfoot people.

Niitsitapi is an all-encompassing Blackfoot term meaning real people, or all Indian, Aboriginal or Indigenous peoples, including those who have Blackfoot as their language.