Lester “Jack” Briggs was a builder. He was a builder of lives; he was a builder of relationships, and, perhaps most importantly, he was a builder of bridges. In 1987, he was asked to help build a new tribal college for his home reservation. For the next15 years he led Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC).

On December 16, 2001, Jack left his family, his friends, and his college to walk with the Creator to a place of greater joy and less pain. Jack’s loss was felt strongly in the Indian and the non-Indian community. People took time to remember the effect Jack had on their lives, on American Indian higher education, and on the future.

As a builder, he first laid his own firm foundation. He built his life from one who, as a teen, experienced institutionalized racism into a well-educated man holding degrees from Rainy River Community College and Bemidji State University. When he passed away, Jack was working on his doctorate at the University of Minnesota. The Minnesota Indian Education Association twice had selected him as American Indian Administrator of the year.

Dr. Phillip Anderson and Robert “Sonny” Peacock invited Jack to help create the only college in the nation that is organized as both a state community college and a tribal college. Peacock served then and now as the tribal chairman. Anderson was the president of the Arrowhead Community College Region; he now is the vice chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates. Anderson said, “I was impressed with Jack’s outgoing personality and his enthusiasm for his job. He seemed to care deeply for his students. Jack’s strong people skills and his positive interpersonal relationships were strong assets. He was a great model particularly for the Indian students at Fond du Lac. He used his great sense of humor and his motivational skills to provide his students, staff, and colleagues with solid advice.”

Martha McLeod, president of Bay Mills Community College, described Jack’s unique personality saying, “Jack had a joy in life. Jack always had a twinkle in his eye and fun somewhere spinning around in the corner.”

Many will remember Jack and his famous smile, which let you know something was up. His wife, Debbie, said, “He always led with his heart—what he felt was right is what he did. He didn’t lead with a lot of words; he led with looks. He wasn’t authoritarian but he could be very powerful if he had to be.”

Debbie explained Jack’s style in a story, which Dr. Elden Lawrence (president, Sisseton Wahpeton Tribal College) once shared with them: “On the walk of life, you walk through this stream, and you see all these pebbles. Some of these are going to come with you and some are going to go onto other things. Jack would pick up pebbles. He knew which pebbles to always bring with him. He knew who he could bring along, who he could depend on to help him do what he was doing. He had a lot of help from a lot of people in a lot of institutions.”

His family enhanced this firmly built personal foundation. He and Debbie had five children and nine grandchildren at the time of his death. Everywhere Jack went, he spoke with great love about his family at home and about his family at the college.

The Fond du Lac campus reflects two cultures.

Jack was also a builder of lives and relationships. Dixie Dorman, a graduate of the tribal college and a member of the FDLTCC/University of Minnesota American Indian Teachers Corps, said, “Jack gave me a sense of hope. He was a kindred spirit who always had a way of making me feel very significant. In Indian Country, it’s hard to come across a positive role model that is American Indian and somebody that you can connect with. He led by example. He never, ever turned me away when I needed someone to talk to. He always had positive reinforcement to give—giving me guidance when I needed it. He trusted me and that meant a lot.”

This sentiment was echoed by Shaun Williams, FDLTCC student and vice president of the Minnesota State College Student Association, “Jack was always right there with the students. He almost seemed like he worked in student services. He was willing to do anything…It wasn’t a stature position for him. He didn’t sit on a pedestal as a president. He destroyed the pedestal on purpose just to be on the same level with everyone.”

His interaction and devotion to his students was echoed by Ron McNeil, president of Sitting Bull College: “Whenever Jack brought his students to an AIHEC conference, he always personally made sure they were okay, had rooms, etc. He took care of them personally rather than having one of his staff members do that.”

Jack also built bridges with other institutions. Dr. Martha McLeod, president of Bay Mills Community College, described her first meeting with him: “What struck me was how grounded he was. As a member of his tribe, he had put his feet in both worlds and built one of the most unique tribal colleges in the country. Jack, who had a strong traditional background of his own, brought his strong beliefs into that college and set the tone for a tribal college within, in many respects, a non-tribal milieu. He made it a totally unique and marvelous institution.”

His fellow tribal college presidents elected him treasurer of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), and in 2001, he also served as the president of the American Indian College Fund board. In his work for the tribal colleges, Jack built many relationships between tribal colleges and others, including mainstream land grant institutions. AIHEC Director of Congressional Relations Meg Goetz said, “In that arena Jack was one of the leaders among tribal college and university presidents. He was, in fact, the co-chair of a USDA-AIHEC leadership group comprised of equal membership appointed by AIHEC and the U.S. secretary of agriculture. He gathered smart, accomplished people and then gave them the authority and freedom to do what they do best. A person has to be very comfortable in his own skin to be at ease with such a non-controlling style.”

Mike Martin, vice president for Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Florida, said, “Jack brought a patient, quiet, persistent intelligence and competence to all he did. His presence and the sense of confidence that he projected caused people to trust him and follow him. One clearly felt Jack’s passion for education and his deep commitment to students of all kinds and from all backgrounds.”

Rick Williams, executive director of the American Indian College Fund, at one point compared Jack to a frog. “For those of you that don’t know, a frog is a very sacred animal among our relations. A frog is born of the water and grows in the water where there are different kinds of dangers, such as fish trying to get them. They really have to be cognizant of things around them. Frogs then move onto the land where they have to be worried about raccoons and coyotes and different kinds of land animals. They have to be able to go between these two worlds.

“That’s who Jack really was. He grew up in the Indian world and knew that world really well, but he had to move into the land (the white world). He did that equally well. He had to go back and forth between the two worlds on a regular basis. I think that’s what Jack represented to me.”

Most importantly, perhaps, Jack was a builder of bridges. His bridges were intangible—they couldn’t be touched, but they were most certainly felt by those involved in the building process. One bridge spanned the cultures within his community.

Randy Asumna, a close friend of Jack, stated, “Jack was one of the very best and brightest that Fond du Lac had to offer. He was a born salesman, because he was so passionate in his beliefs about higher education and why Indian students deserved the best. Jack was also a community leader. He brought the greater community of Cloquet together—Indians and non-Indians–working on a shared vision for education. Jack’s leadership on the governance agreement between MnSCU Minnesota State Colleges & University System and the tribal college board was astounding. Jack once said, ‘We all have to trust each other; we’ve never been down this road before, but it can work.’ He made it work; he made people believe in the mission of the school.”

Mike Martin, University of Florida, further elaborated on Jack’s leadership style and the relationship he had begun to build with the University of Florida, saying, “He taught the meaning and value of inclusiveness in higher education. Jack was an American Indian educator of unquestionable prominence but was equally prominent as a leader in the on-going evolution of higher education well beyond his community. He was a champion of the cultural diversity of the community and also strived to promote global understanding and respect for all people.”

A builder of lives, a builder of relationships, a builder of bridges, a legacy spinning our future. Jack Briggs will be remembered. His dreams remain in many hearts and among the people who will work to help make them stronger.

In Jack’s memory, the Jack and Debbie Briggs Scholarship has been created. Those wishing to donate to the scholarship fund can send their donations to Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, 2101-14^th Street, Cloquet, Minnesota 55720.

Judith Shultz is a faculty member at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and has served on the faculty since the college was founded.

Persevering through adversity

by Charlin Diver

When I was asked about Jack’s leadership style, I hesitated to answer. A leadership style sounds so impersonal. It makes me think of a stuffed shirt who is constantly vying for a promotion.

I believe Jack’s leadership style came from how he grew up, how he fought against racism, how he had to fight for his pride as an Indian person. Some say he “led with his heart.” That is 180 degrees from growing up on the reservation where you had to lead with your chin when you attended public school or went to public functions off the reservation. Where did he get his leadership style? I think he saw his mother make a difference for her children, “leading with her heart” through adversity.

I think back to the time in 1975 when I was reacquainted with Jack. We hadn’t seen each other since we were in our teens, and he was in Duluth to work on some issues he had with himself, family, and life in general.

He used to talk about how much he loved his family. He had his vulnerable moments, but he always got his strength from his family and friends. Later on at the college, he talked about how his mother and his wife helped him to be a better person and helped him with his perseverance and devotion to things he believed in.

As many of the present and past faculty and staff at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College know, Jack’s way did not always win him a personality contest, but he got the job done. If it weren’t for his perseverance and pressure, we might still be doing what we did 16 years ago before FDLTCC.

That’s why it is hard to define Jack’s leadership style. He got it from the people around him who challenged him and pushed him to make a difference.

Excerpts from some of the many tributes to Jack Briggs:

David Gipp, president of United Tribes Technical Institute: “He carried with him the strong tribal virtues of patience, courage, humility, and generosity—mixed with a good sense of humor. He has earned his place among the colleges and in the community.”

Bonnie Wallace Hagland, chair of the FDLTCC board 1990-2000: “Nobody worked harder and smarter than he did. He was passionate about this ‘union of cultures.’ …He and I made many trips to the state capital and to Washington, DC, and I was always amazed at his enthusiasm and energy. We put in some long, long hours. He liked nothing better than ‘schmoozing’ on the hill. Storytelling came naturally to him, and he was always quick with a joke.”

Calvina Dupre, Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA: “Jack Briggs was an extraordinary man whose influence will continue to benefit us here and abroad. He inspired respect and affection in Washington, DC, as he kindly and patiently enlightened us and encouraged international opportunities to work together with other countries and help solve mutual problems.”

David Wise: “This college is his vision and his song.”

Jack Briggs

He always looked for signs,
The day the black bear rambled past his office window
Not long after Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College was built,
The afternoon when the first bear claws of the student dorms were dedicated
And two bald eagles swirled above the ceremony in a clear blue sky.

Rick Williams, Executive Director of the American Indian College Fund, introduced him once
As a frog that jumped between two ponds
Whenever storms lashed waters too hard;
Somehow, in the process of jumping,
Making everything good in the world of ponds, forests, and human beings.

I always thought he was more like a raven,
Eyes so bright and filled with what was going on inside of him
That life swirled outward from his center whenever he cawed.
He could dance on the sky with wings
That let him dip and soar and fly upside down
And fall like a rock toward the earth
Until, at the last moment, he laughed
And launched skyward again, acrobat of laughter and joy.

“If it was the system,” he said on a day when his eyes were filled with pain
And grayness draped like an Indian blanket over his shoulders,
“I’d beat this,”
And he would have too,
Like the raven putting one cautious foot forward
As he nipped the tail of a wolf or eagle,
Dancing backward when teeth or claws
Twisted dangerously toward the dance
That flashed in the sky, up and away. . .
But not too far,
Until, at last, improbably alive, he had his triumph of the moment, hour, year, lifetime.

But, in the end,
The web of the universe cloaked him
And brought him away from that voice
Which said, even of those flashing knives at him,
“But I guess they’re really only doing what they think is right,”
And the grayness was not the system,
But the passage that leads all of us to our final journey.

And here I am,
In the house, the students are saying, that Jack built,
Light filtered through clouds
Into the commons that soars with windows framed by gold and blue paint,
And I am remembering his joy in his marriage, his love of his kids and grandkids,
His fecund valley, as he once told me,
And I mostly feel blank,
As empty as a net thrown into a pond where no fish has ever lived.

But I know what is important now.
This has been a bad year.
But I know that as you walk
Through slendertall red pines toward the glass and red, yellow, and blue panels of the college,
His song, his vision, and his dreams
Are spiraling outward into generations of Indian and white students,
Building community and family and a union of cultures,

And I know that one day soon, not today,
The wind will sing in the pines,
And I’ll hear his song,
And I’ll smile.

–Tom Davis, 12/19/01