Northwest Indian College

Lummi tribal college in Bellingham, Washington, US

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Northwest Indian College

Xwlemi Elh > Tal > Nexw Squl

Former names

| Lummi Indian School of Aquaculture, Lummi Community College
Motto| Through education, Northwest Indian College promotes Indigenous self-determination and knowledge.

Motto in English

| Building People, Building Nations
Type| Public tribal land-grant community college
Established| 1973 (1973)
President| Dr. Lexie Tom

Academic staff

| 100 (33 full-time, 67 part-time)[1][needs update]
Undergraduates| 1000 (2025)
Address|

2522 Kwina Rd.

Bellingham, Washington

U.S.

48°47′39″N 122°36′51″W﻿ / ﻿48.79417°N 122.61417°W﻿ / 48.79417; -122.61417
Campus| Urban/Suburban Lummi Nation (main campus) reserve, Swinomish, Tulalip, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, and Nez Perce.
Affiliations| AIHEC
Website| www.nwic.edu
[2]

Northwest Indian College (Xwlemi Elh>Tal>Nexw Squl[3]) is a public tribal land-grant community college in Bellingham, Washington, United States. It was established by the Lummi Nation and is the only accredited tribal college or university serving reservation communities of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.[4][5]

## History

[edit]

NWIC was created in response to the higher education needs of American Indians, particularly geographically isolated populations that have no other means accessing education beyond the high school level.[4]

The institution began in 1973 as the Lummi Indian School of Aquaculture, which was established to provide local technicians for employment in Indian-owned and operated fish and shellfish hatcheries in the United States and Canada. In 1983, the Lummi Nation chartered the Lummi Community College to fulfill the need for a more comprehensive post-secondary education for tribal members.[6]

The Lummi Community College campaigned for accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities in 1988.[5] The commission affirmed accreditation in 1993, and Lummi Community College became Northwest Indian College.[6] One year later, the college was designated a land-grant college alongside 31 other tribal colleges.[7]

Years of program expansion and dedication resulted in the college gaining accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities as a four-year, baccalaureate degree-granting institution, effective September 2008.[5][8]

In May 2025, NWIC announced the Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Lexie Tom as the first-ever Lummi Nation Tribal Member and NWIC alumna to serve as President. Tom previously served as Interim President and the Education Director of Lummi Nation School prior to that.

Previously, Dr. Justin Guillory (Nez Perce Tribe), served as President from 2012-2024 and moved on to become President at Whatcom Community College.

## Academics

[edit]

NWIC offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Associate of Arts and Sciences, Associate of Science (Transfer), Associate of Applied Science (Transfer), and Associate of Technical Arts degrees.[9] As of 2011, it was one of seven tribal colleges in the U.S. to offer a degree related to tribal administration.[10]

The college is an open enrollment school, meaning no SAT or ACT scores are needed to apply.[11]

## Campus

[edit]

Buildings on the NWIC Lummi campus

Northwest Indian College is an accredited four-year college located on the Lummi Indian Reservation in Washington state, near the city of Bellingham. In addition the NWIC's main campus in Lummi, the college has five sites located in Tulalip, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, and Nez Perce.[12]

## Partnerships

[edit]

NWIC is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), which is a community of tribally and federally-chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations and make a lasting difference in the lives of American Indians and Alaska Natives.[4]

Scholarships are available through the American Indian College Fund (AICF) and the NWIC Foundation.[13]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "College Navigator - Northwest Indian College". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
2. ^ "Northwest Indian College". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
3. ^ 2017–2019 College Catalog
4. ^ a b c American Indian Higher Education Consortium Archived 2012-06-14 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ a b c "Commission Grants NWIC Four-year Accreditation". Tribal College Journal. 22 (2). Winter 2010.
6. ^ a b "Our Story". Northwest Indian College. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
7. ^ "NIFA 1994s The First 20 Years of the 1994 Land-Grant Institutions Standing on Tradition, Embracing the Future" (PDF). National Institute of Food and Agriculture. September 25, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
8. ^ "Northwest Indian College announces successful accreditation as four-year degree granting institution". Northwest Indian College. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
9. ^ "Programs of Study and Awards of Completion". NWIC.edu. Northwest Indian College. 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
10. ^ Ronquillo, John C. (March–April 2011). "American Indian Tribal Governance and Management: Public Administration Promise or Pretense?". Public Administration Review. 71 (2): 285–292\. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02340.x. JSTOR 41061189. S2CID 153911704.
11. ^ "Northwest Indian College (NWIC)". Campus Explorer. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
12. ^ "Northwest Indian College Sites". Northwest Indian College. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
13. ^ "Financial Resources". Northwest Indian College. Retrieved July 28, 2011.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

North American tribal colleges and universities

Canada

Alberta|

* University nn Blue Quills
* Maskwacis Cultural College
* Old Sun Community College
* Red Crow Community College
* Yellowhead Tribal College

British Columbia|

* Native Education College
* Nicola Valley Institute of Technology

Manitoba|

* University College of the North
* Yellowquill College

Nunavut|

* Akitsiraq Law School
* Nunavut Arctic College

Ontario|

* Anishinabek Education Institute
* FNTI
* Kenjgewin Teg Educational Institute
* Iohahi꞉io Akwesasne Adult Education Centre
* Negahneewin College
* Seven Generations Education Institute
* Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig
* Six Nations Polytechnic

Saskatchewan|

* First Nations University of Canada
* Gabriel Dumont Institute
* Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies

United States

Alaska|

* Iḷisaġvik College

Arizona|

* Diné College
* Tohono Oʼodham Community College

California|

* D–Q University

Kansas|

* Haskell Indian Nations University

Michigan|

* Bay Mills Community College
* Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College
* Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College

Minnesota|

* Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
* Leech Lake Tribal College
* Red Lake Nation College
* White Earth Tribal and Community College

Montana|

* Aaniiih Nakoda College
* Blackfeet Community College
* Chief Dull Knife College
* Fort Peck Community College
* Little Big Horn College
* Salish Kootenai College
* Stone Child College

Nebraska|

* Little Priest Tribal College
* Nebraska Indian Community College

New Mexico|

* Institute of American Indian Arts
* Navajo Technical University
* Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

North Dakota|

* Cankdeska Cikana Community College
* Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
* Sitting Bull College
* Turtle Mountain Community College
* United Tribes Technical College

Oklahoma|

* College of the Muscogee Nation
* Comanche Nation College

South Dakota|

* Oglala Lakota College
* Sinte Gleska University
* Sisseton Wahpeton College

Washington|

* Northwest Indian College

Wisconsin|

* College of Menominee Nation
* Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College

Wyoming|

* Wind River Tribal College

* v
* t
* e

Indigenous peoples in Washington state

Federally recognized tribes|

* Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation
* Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
* Cowlitz Indian Tribe
* Hoh Tribe
* Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
* Kalispel Tribe of Indians
* Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
* Lummi Nation
* Makah Tribe
* Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
* Nisqually Indian Tribe
* Nooksack Indian Tribe
* Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe
* Puyallup Tribe of Indians
* Quileute Nation
* Quinault Indian Nation
* Samish Indian Nation
* Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe
* Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe
* Skokomish Indian Tribe
* Snoqualmie Indian Tribe
* Spokane Tribe of Indians
* Squaxin Island Tribe
* Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians
* Suquamish Tribe
* Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
* Tulalip Tribes
* Upper Skagit Indian Tribe
* Yakama Nation

Unrecognized Tribes|

* Duwamish Tribe
* Steilacoom Tribe
* Snohomish Tribe
* Chinook Indian Nation
* Marietta Band of Nooksacks
* Mitchell Bay Band of the San Juan Islands

Languages|

| Athabaskan languages|

* Kwalhioqua–Clatskanie

|

Chimakuan languages|

* Chemakum
* Quileute

Chinookan languages|

* Lower Chinook
* Upper Chinook

Sahaptian languages|

* Nez Perce
* Sahaptin

Salishan languages|

* Coeur d'Alene
* Columbia-Moses
* Colville-Okanagan
* Cowlitz language
* (S')Klallam
* Lower Chehalis
* Lushootseed
* North Straits Salish
* Quinault language
* Salish-Spokane-Kalispel
* Thompson
* Upper Chehalis

Wakashan languages|

* Makah

Trade languages|

* Chinook Jargon

Unclassified languages|

* Cayuse

Archaeological topics|

* Duwamish Number 1 Site
* East Wenatchee Clovis Site
* Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park
* Kennewick Man
* Lind Coulee Archaeological Site
* Lower Snake River Archaeological District
* Marmes Rockshelter
* Marymoor Prehistoric Indian Site
* Ozette Indian Village Archeological Site
* Old Man House
* Redmond Town Center archaeological site
* Salish peoples
* Tri-Cities Archaeological District
* Tse-whit-zen
* Windust Caves Archaeological District

Institutions|

* ʔálʔal Café (closed)
* Chief Seattle Club
* Daybreak Star Cultural Center
* Lelooska Museum
* Makah Museum
* Northwest Indian College
* Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
* Quinault Cultural Center and Museum
* Suquamish Museum

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Czech Republic

Other|

* Yale LUX

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