For much of his adult life, Dan Kinsey’s heart has led him. His career changes and life experiences have shaped a man uniquely prepared and motivated for leadership.

A member of the Gros Ventre Tribe, Dan, Nee sah Aho (Lone Fly), earned an electronics degree from DeVry Institute in Phoenix, AZ, in 1980. While in Arizona, a woman from the San Carlos Apache Reservation caught his eye: Mildred Barley. He left Phoenix for a job in Billings, MT, but unhappy with his work and with being separated from Mildred, he returned. They eventually married and established their home in Phoenix.

In 1993, the Kinsey family followed their hearts again. Dan took a short trip back to the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana for his Aunt Marie’s memorial “give away.”  While home he heard about the Vocational Education Natural Resources Training Program offered at Fort Belknap College, the local tribal college.  Both Dan and his wife had management positions in Phoenix at the time, and they were doing well providing for their four children.

The visit back to the rural reservation in central Montana changed his perspective, Dan said. “It was so nice to be home and not have all the congestion and traffic to deal with.” After talking it over with Millie, he applied for the training and was selected. The selection committee members expressed their surprise that he would move from a secure position to take training in vocational education, but Dan told them he always had wanted to return to school.  He had studied forestry in 1978 at the University of Montana but never finished. Tired of the city life and wanting to raise their children in a smaller community, they were ready for a new beginning.

Dan excelled in the Natural Resources Program and graduated from Fort Belknap College in 1995 with a cumulative grade point average of 3.97. The tribal college fever spread to other members of the family. Millie graduated with a degree in business.  In 1997, their son, Virgil, graduated from Fort Belknap College with an associate degree in human services.

Their tribal college experience led both Dan and Millie to transfer to Montana State University-Northern, 45 miles from Fort Belknap, where Dan received his bachelor’s degree in biology, and Mildred received her bachelor’s in business with a minor in small business.

Both are using their education to serve Indian people. Dan has worked for the Fort Belknap Tribal Environmental Protection Agency office, as the tribal wetlands coordinator, and currently serves as the tribal sanitarian. Millie works at the Fort Belknap College Small Business Center.

Dan now acts on his passion for education by serving on the tribal college board and the school district board. Two of their boys (Virgil and John) have left home to serve in the military. Danielle, 12, and Michael, 11, attend school in Harlem, two miles west of the reservation. Two years ago, Dan ran for school board and won, now helping to govern the schools that he attended as a child.

Dan is grateful to the tribal college: “If it weren’t for the opportunities at Fort Belknap College, we wouldn’t be where we are today.  The college helps you to stay focused and motivated.”  He also thanks his mother, Dorothy, and his sister, Linda, for their support.

For many reasons, he chose to serve on the Fort Belknap College Board. He is the vice chairman. “I thoroughly enjoy being on the board. I view the college as a way for improving our economy on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.”

To be a good board member, Dan feels a person needs to be objective, open to suggestions, and diplomatic. He has benefited from the Montana School Board training and college board training offered by the accreditation agency, the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.

In addition, Dan relies upon his varied life experiences and his heritage for making good decisions. Dan’s family has a long tradition of leadership. His grandfather, Tom Main; uncles, Jimmy and Jerome; and cousins, Jiggs and William, all served on the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council.  His uncle, Jerome, is currently on the tribal council.  Dan feels content to use his leadership skills in education.

Clarena Brockie (Wat-se or Eagle Plume) is the dean of students at Fort Belknap College where she has worked for four years. A member of the Gros Ventre Tribe, she worked in the tribal education department for 15 years where she was involved in founding the college in 1984.