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

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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.