The mission of Community Services is to provide the constituency of the reservation with access to quality life-long learning experiences. Community Services supports and enhances FPCC’s mission to offer credit and non-credit courses, both traditional and innovative in format and content, to all students. The Department of Community Services is committed to improving employee proficiency within local businesses, schools, industries and local government agencies, and in the teaching of Native American Studies, particularly the Assiniboine and Sioux arts, language and traditional teachings.

The Department of Community Services is established to meet the needs of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation communities. The centralization of the community services activities within Fort Peck Community College highlights the priority being given to the wide array of offerings which serve the community in ways that conventional course offerings do not.

Continuing education courses are offered through distance learning and supplemented by on-site instruction. Courses are taught by FPCC instructors, community resource specialists, tribal language and cultural instructors, and adjunct faculty from participating universities.

CENTER FOR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (CFCD)

Center activities include continuing education courses and activities that promote family, cultural, social and economic development. Information regarding the Center’s services can be obtained from the Department of Community Services staff, located in the Administrative building. The Center’s activities and service areas are determined by tribal members who are staff or faculty at FPCC.

COMMUNITY BUSINESS ASSISTANCE CENTER

The Community Business Assistance Center provides assistance to new and existing small businesses through comprehensive training and technical assistance. The CBAC includes the Tribal Business Information Center, the CFCD Micro-Loan program and the Entrepreneur program. In addition, classrooms and office space are available for visiting technical assistance providers and trainers. The CBAC is available to everyone and provides "One Stop Shopping" for the small business in need of help.

FAMILY LITERACY AND PARENTING

Special instruction and support activities are provided for members of the community to promote family literacy and family wellness through both individualized and group GED instruction Positive Indian Parenting classes, Parenting Institutes, and seminars and workshops held throughout the year. Even Start, located on the Boulevard in Poplar, can provide information for these services. GED instruction is provided in Frazer, Oswego, Wolf Point, Brockton and Poplar. For information regarding the various family services provided by Even Start, call 768-3050 or 1-888-383-6787.

AGRICULTURE AND RANCHING

FPCC’s status as a Land Grant Institution was signed into law in 1994. The law allowed access to a number of programs within the Department of Agriculture. At FPCC, the Department of Community Services is responsible for coordinating the types of training needed to promote agriculture as a meaningful and productive way of utilizing the reservation land base. Through on-site instruction, the advancement of electronic technology and articulation agreements with four-year institutions, agricultural, natural resources and home economics training is provided to the community.

DISTANCE LEARNING

FPCC’s interactive audio/video systems allows students at different sites to participate in both credit and non-credit educational experiences. Select lower division classes are offered simultaneously in Wolf Point, Poplar, Scobey and other secondary sites. In addition, upper division and graduate classes are available from colleges and universities, including Rocky Mountain College, Montana State University-Billings, and Montana State University-Northern. Course selection and scheduling is based on special interests and educational needs.

For information regarding class scheduling, registration, and academic programs, contact the Distance Learning Coordinator located in the Robert L. Sullivan Building or call 768-3231.

LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOL SERVICES

Specialized resources and training are provided to the local public schools on the Fort Peck Reservation in areas involving the promotion of math and science, disability and special educational training designed especially for teachers and teacher’s aides, parenting and GED instruction for the parents, as well as Native American studies courses for teachers to provide cultural sensitivity for teachers new to reservation schools. Community Services provides training based on requests. School personnel are encouraged to submit requests to the Department of Community Services located in the Administration building.

ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX ARTS, LANGUAGE AND TRADITIONAL TEACHINGS

The Department of Community Services recruits Assiniboine and Sioux language speakers, teachers, and artists to teach the arts, languages, and traditional teachings of the two tribes. The Department of Community Services sponsors cultural instruction and activities which promote elder, parent, and youth interaction including Assiniboine and Sioux language immersion, music, art, and oral history.

CENTER FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLNESS (DAYA TIBI)

Based upon the philosophy of health, physical fitness, and spirituality that is so important in Native American heritage, it is the mission of the center to provide an environment conducive to the promotion of the total health and well being of the members of the Fort Peck Tribes and citizens of the Fort Peck Reservation.

FPCC students pay an activity fee that covers the cost of using the center for that academic year. The community is welcome to use the center by paying a nominal fee to cover the cost of maintenance and administration. Activities include high and low impact aerobics, walking, jogging, yoga, health education, nutrition, expectant mother exercise programs, as well as food preparation and preservation classes.

COMMUNITY NEEDS