University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills, originally called Blue Quills First Nations College (BQFNC), is a non-profit, indigenous owned and controlled educational institution located several hundred kilometers northeast of Edmonton on designated Reserve Land near the town of St.Paul, Alberta. A Board comprised of one appointed member from each of the surrounding seven reserves and a Saddle Lake First Nation Elder governs the institution. The University’s name honors Chief Blue Quill (sîpihtakanep), one of the original four Treaty Six chiefs who banded together to form Saddle Lake. Programming at University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills is “grounded in traditional Indigenous knowledge, ancient sacred wisdom that has been transmitted orally over several generations through ceremony, language and land based teaching.” 1
University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills was a founding member of the First Nations Adult & Higher Education Consortium [FNAHEC) in 1997 and attained NIAB accreditation in 2000. It received accreditation in 2016 from the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC). (link to http://winhec.org/)
Mandate
“it has become the mandate of the University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills to serve as an advocate of Cree language, culture, history, and pedagogy in all forms for students taking courses at the university. Rightfully the ultimate goal of the university is to educate students in such a manner that their Cree identity or “onehiyâwiwiniyiw” emerges free from a colonial mentality. In addition, the cycle of assimilation through education stops with the emphasis on Cree language and culture.”2