“It was one of the first times in history that Indians took over a fort,” said Dave Gipp, president of United Tribes Technical College (UTTC). In the late 1960s, the federal government deeded Fort Lincoln’s old brick buildings (circa 1902) and 150 acres of land to the tribes with the restriction that they be used for education. The fort west of Bismarck, N.D., has become the home of UTTC, one of the oldest tribal colleges in the nation. In 1999, the college celebrated its 30- year anniversary.

The beginnings for UTTC were simple. The five tribes in North Dakota wanted education and employment training for Native people in this area. In spring 1968, Spirit Lake Tribe, Fort Totten, N.D.; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Fort Yates, N.D.; Three Affiliated Tribes, New Town, N.D.; the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Belcourt, N.D.; and later the Sisseton/Wahpeton Dakota Sioux, Sisseton, S.D., organized as the United Tribes of North Dakota Development Corporation. They dreamed of eventually having a college for Native American people.

At that time, tribal leaders recognized isolation and the lack of transportation as major impediments to education. Many of the Indian people on the Plains region didn’t own cars. Some had to hire transportation to get them from one place to another, Gipp said. “They were a community left out of the educational system. Colleges and universities were not meeting the needs of rural reservations,” Gipp said. The tribes wanted to create a “grass roots” organization to address these needs. Because it was located near Bismarck and not near the students’ homes on the reservations, UTTC would provide housing, transportation, childcare, and schools for the children.

Theodore “Tiny Bud” Jamerson, the tribal chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux, provided the initial impetus for UTTC. To honor him for his work and advocacy, UTTC named its elementary school in his honor. Gipp has been the driving force for most of UTTC’s history and has also taken a leadership role in the national tribal college movement. From 1973 to 1977, he was the first permanent executive director of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), the national organization of tribal colleges. Last October, the other tribal college presidents elected him to serve as president of their organization, AIHEC, for the third time.

In 1977, Gipp became president of UTTC where he has served for over 22 years. He has led UTTC’s growth from a technical center, to a certified vocational training school, and then to a tribal college with accreditation for associate degrees. Except for Diné College (formerly Navajo Community College) in Arizona, the Dakotas and Nebraska are the birthplace of tribal colleges, said Gipp. UTTC is also a focal point for North Dakota tribes to gather for discussions and actions on issues that affect all Indian people.

Dave Gipp has served as president of UTTC and as a national education leader for nearly 30 years. Pictured with him are the UTTC Chemical Health Center staff in 1997: Harriet Schneider, Julie Cain, Vincent Malnourie, Russell Gillette, and Joe McGillis. 1997 file photo by Mike McCleary, courtesy of the Bismarck Tribune.

When the United Tribes first opened their employment training center, they took advantage of what they found on the old military compound. One of their first classrooms was an old army barn. Unlike conventional colleges, many of the students were in their mid-30s and some even in their 50s. Since then, UTTC students’ age has dropped significantly, which Gipp attributes to steadily increasing reservation populations. Today, many of the students come right out of high school although there are exceptions, including a current student who is a 53- year- old grandmother. Students from rural reservation areas often are single parents with children. To meet their needs, UTTC established early childhood centers for children from infancy to toddlers as well as the Theodore Jamerson Elementary School.

The students are far more selective today. “When I take a straw poll (of new students), I ask them what courses they want to take, and only a handful don’t know,” he said. Although there are four other tribal colleges in North Dakota alone, there is little competition for students among the tribal colleges. Of the 550 tribal nations in the United States, there are only 32 tribal colleges to serve their needs. “The more avenues, the more opportunities for all of us,” said Gerald “Carty” Monette, president of the Turtle Mountain Community College and former president of AIHEC.

What makes UTTC unique is serving the special training needs of the rural Native American students. They complement the tribal colleges located on reservations by offering transferable credits and sharing costs for services such as the statewide interactive video network.

UTTC classes have changed over the years. Automotive repair, which used to be carburetors and belts, now includes complicated computer analysis. In carpentry and construction classes, students build a house from the ground up, and then it is sold to the public. Other classes include criminal justice, police science, construction technology, and clerical. UTTC has 14 associate of applied science degrees, and all of their programs are certified.

Because of the lack of space, there is a waiting list to enroll at UTTC, Gipp said. Nevertheless, some members of Congress want to “zero out” funding for UTTC. Gipp attributes this to politics; some Congressmen want to “rob Peter to pay Paul.” They have their own pet projects and would like to see some of the UTTC funding go their way, he said. Nevertheless, UTTC’s supporters in Congress have been able to maintain funding so far.

Culture is emphasized on campus as a result of both the students’ and the board of directors’ priorities. In the course of celebrating their culture, the “wacipi” (pow wow) was born. The UTTC pow wow has grown to be one of the largest celebrations in the region, and it provides funding to  support cultural and other activities at the college. It also attracts people to the campus who have never seen UTTC.

UTTC is taking a deep breath and stepping gingerly into the new millennium. The college has come a long way in 30 years, meeting the challenges of the past and preparing for those to come. The United Tribes have proved to the “nay sayers” that they can do it.

Dorreen Yellow Bird, Sahnish (Arikara) from the Three Affiliated Tribes, is a community journalist and columnist for the Grand Forks Herald. She also serves on the editorial board for the herald. She has her master’s degree in education from Oregon State University and is a frequent contributor to the Tribal College Journal.