Fort Belknap Indian Community

The Fort Belknap Indian Community Council's Aaniiih Nakoda College Library (ANCL) will promote lifelong learning among residents of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation through outreach programs that address topics of identified community interest and feature engaging, hands-on educational activities related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and health/wellness, as approached through the lens of Aaniiih and Nakoda language, history and lifeways. Outreach programs will be planned, implemented and evaluated in cooperation with a network of community partners and delivered in all three reservation communities (Fort Belknap Agency, Hays and Lodgepole). Special emphasis will be placed on outreach to youth. Project outcomes include increased community awareness of and participation in programming; amplified interest in and knowledge of science, technology, health/wellness and Aaniiih and Nakoda culture; more use of library resources; and augmented college- and career-readiness among reservation youth. The project will be carried out over a two-year period.