Mission Statement
Mission
The Nebraska Indian Community College provides quality higher education and lifelong educational opportunities for Umonhon (Omaha), Isanti (Santee Dakota) and all learners.
Vision
Nebraska Indian Community College 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:
Umoⁿhoⁿ Core Value |
Literal English Translation |
NICC English Core Value
|
Literal English Translation |
Dakota Core Value |
oⁿwoⁿ ghe see thay noⁿ
oⁿwóⁿgisithe nóⁿ
|
we think about them / keep them in our mind |
student-centered
|
they (the students) stand at the center of the camp circle |
wó'uŋspe khuwápi čhokáta énažiŋ |
weeⁿ kay xte
wíⁿkʰe xti |
telling the real truth
|
honesty |
truth, sincerity |
wówičakhe |
ou kgee kgaⁿ
ukíkoⁿ |
helping each other |
loyalty
|
stay with one other |
wónakičižiŋ |
geoⁿ thah bah zhe
kióⁿtha bazhi
|
staying by each other / not abandoning one another
|
|||
ou shkou daⁿ
úshkoⁿ údoⁿ
|
good ways
|
generosity |
to place something or somebody within your heart |
wačháŋtohnake |
ou thou dom bay
uthúdoⁿbe
|
consideration / restraint / thoughtfulness
|
humility
|
to humble oneself |
wo'únšic'iye
|
oⁿ thay ee yay
óⁿthe íye |
speaking softly
|
|
|
|
thah ’ay kee thah
tha’é kitha |
being kind to each other
|
|||
wah noⁿ day hee day
wanóⁿdehide |
showing concern for others
|
compassion
|
to be compassionate |
wó'uŋšida |
thah ’ay wah thay
tha’é wathe |
kindness / pity
|
|||
ay kee gaⁿ
ékʰigoⁿ |
alike
|
equality |
alike, working together for same goal |
iyúha ówaŋžina na'úŋžipi |
ee hou thay
íhuthe |
getting permission in the right way |
respect
|
respectful or polite |
wóyu'onihaŋ |
ghe g’thee yay zhou bah
kigthíezhuba |
self-respect
|
self-respect |
íhdu'onihaŋ |
|
oⁿ xte
óⁿxti |
honored / important |
honor
|
to honor somebody by words of praise |
wayu'onihan
|
ou thou nah zhe
uthúnoⁿzhiⁿ |
to depend on somebody |
trust
|
trusting someone |
wačhíŋyaŋpi |
ay thay éthe |
kin |
kinship
|
family group |
wótakuye |
wah zheeⁿ skah
wazhíⁿska |
wise / mindful |
wisdom
|
wisdom |
wōksape |
Wah kgoⁿ dah wah thah haⁿ noⁿ
Wakóⁿda wathahoⁿ nóⁿ
|
prayerful |
spirituality
|
Dakota spirituality |
Dakhód wóčhekiye |
*Note* These core values have been prepared for the spring 2018 update to the College’s Mission Statement and other materials and approved by official College bodies. Tribal elders Hawatay (Winona Caramony) and Theumba Ghegtha (Thiónba Gigthé/ Joseph Harlan) authorized these translations into Umónhon on Friday the 20th and Monday the 23rd of April 2018. It was decided to make the list of values Umónhon-centric by putting the core values in Umónhon first and including some of the most important values from the Elders’ teachings. Each Umónhon word is spelt in Hawatay’s 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 Umónhon-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.