Residents in and around Browning have long contended with a lack of access to qualified healthcare professionals and services on the Blackfeet reservation. However, the recently opened $7.5 million health science and education building at Blackfeet Community College (BCC) offers a long-term solution to help address these challenges. This new facility will advance training opportunities for Native American nursing and education students to meet increasing healthcare and education needs locally and throughout Montana. BCC held a special ceremony to name the new building in honor of Elouise Cobell, also known as Yellow Bird Woman, the late tribal elder and posthumous awardee of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“We believe that investing in quality health science education addresses the root cause of so many of the health disparities we see on the Blackfeet reservation,” says BCC Interim President Carol Murray. “The new health science and education building replaces overcrowded and outdated facilities, creates capacity for more students, and attracts the faculty we need to train the next generation of healthcare professionals. It also brings us one step closer to expanding from a two-year to a four-year degree program in education and nursing.”

BCC named the new building Oahtkwii Piiksakii Iikohkon-Yellow Bird Woman Lodge in honor of Cobell, the late Blackfeet tribal elder, banker, and rancher who was the lead plaintiff in the groundbreaking class-action lawsuit that challenged the U.S. government’s mismanagement of Native American trust funds. In 2015, Montana Governor Steve Bullock proclaimed November 5 of each year as Elouise Cobell Day in honor of Cobell’s birthday.

Dignitaries who spoke at the naming ceremony included Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person, Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Chairman Tim Davis, BCC Board of Trustees Chairman James McNeely, BCC Interim President Carol Murray, Elouise Cobell’s son, Turk Cobell, and Blackfoot speaker and former POW Marvin Weatherwax Sr.

With the support of BCC partners, BCC secured financing for the new $7.5 million health science and education building with the help of First Interstate Bank, an innovative federal program called the New Markets Tax Credits, and through the community-based nonprofit lender MoFi. The New Markets Tax Credits program helps incentivize economic development projects in low-income communities around the country. MoFi works with investors to turn tax credits into cash and then uses that cash to fund catalytic development projects.

“The opening of the Yellow Bird Woman Lodge represents the best of this community,” says Dave Glaser, president of MoFi. “We are thrilled to help finance a project that will create jobs, new facilities, and, more importantly, pave the way for a brighter, healthier future for the people of Browning.”