Introduction:
Salish Kootenai College (SKC) was founded with a unique purpose: to serve the people of our communities in their workforce, academic, cultural, and language perpetuation needs. A decade ago, Atwen Incashola reminded us of the critical nature and duty of this work, and Kootenai Elders make a similar call today. Although we continually work to strengthen our collaborative contributions, the need has only grown. This work requires immediate, focused, and expanded support.
This moment provides an opportunity to serve our Séliš, Ksanka, and Ql̓ispé communities in an even deeper way. Founded to serve the workforce, academic, and cultural perpetuation needs of our Tribes, Salish Kootenai College has the institutional capacity and is uniquely positioned to collaborate on and support the culture and language revitalization efforts of our Séliš, Ksanka, and Ql̓ispé people. As an institution of higher learning grounded in our cultural and institutional values, SKC provides an environment guided by collaboration, innovation, research, and the long-term perpetuation and stewardship of language and culture. Therefore, SKC is prioritizing our efforts to collaboratively strengthen culture and language revitalization efforts for our Sqelixʷ and Ktunaxa languages and cultures.
Position Summary:
Acting in partnership with the President, the Director of Tribal Relations and Campus-wide Culture and Language Education serves two critical, interconnected functions. The first is to act as the primary strategic liaison between Salish Kootenai College (SKC) and our Séliš-Ql̓ispé and Ksanka culture committees, as well as other appropriate Tribal departments. The second critical function is to serve as the primary contact, facilitator, and lead for Salish Kootenai College’s culture and language education and revitalization efforts, supporting our campus, community, and affiliated network(s).
A central priority of this role is fostering deep, collaborative partnerships with the Séliš-Ql̓ispé and Ksanka Culture Committees, ensuring SKC remains a leader in self-determination and cultural vitality. Simultaneously, the Director will lead campus-wide culture and language efforts, potentially including the development of a dedicated Culture and Language Center and sustainable funding models to support these efforts into the future. These efforts will require strengthening our culture and language network while simultaneously coordinating a team of skilled speakers, scholars, educators, and cultural knowledge holders.
Given the advancing age of the remaining highly fluent speakers, this role carries significant urgency and responsibility. The Director will provide cultural, curricular, organizational, technical, and potentially intellectual leadership for language and culture revitalization—including fundraising, campus-wide culture and language perpetuation, curricula and resource development, documentation, and community engagement—while supporting the delivery of training in culture and language pedagogy and curriculum development, advocacy, documentation, archiving, and curation.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Cultural Leadership & Guided Collaboration This role serves as a key liaison between the Séliš-Ql̓ispé and Ksanka Culture Committees, our language communities, and the college. The goal is to ensure the collective wisdom and guidance of our people help shape the college’s strategic path while honoring the foundational work already being led by our community partners.
● Partner with Culture Committees and language speakers to design academic and institutional projects. This collaborative approach ensures that the college’s work complements and sustains cultural and linguistic integrity while supporting an environment of open learning and discovery.
● Work closely with the Culture Committees to review college frameworks—such as our "education-to-employment" pathways. This ensures that Séliš, Ksanka, and Ql̓ispé values are meaningfully woven into the college's operations in a way that respects tribal authority and aligns with established community standards.
● Lead efforts to bring Native elders, cultural leaders, and community members into the college’s planning process. This ensures that the college remains responsive to the community and a place where the cultural priorities identified by our partners are honored.
● Lead coordination with CSKT’s sister tribes, Montana’s six other Tribal Colleges, and partnering Tribal Nations, ensuring all collaborations respect the sovereignty and unique protocols of each Tribal Nation and build upon shared regional successes.
2. Culture and Language Education Center Leadership & Operations This role serves as the founding Director of a potential Culture and Language Education Center at SKC, providing the operational and intellectual leadership required to build a sustainable revitalization hub that serves as a resource for the entire community.
● Leadership & Strategy
○ Facilitate appropriate conversations surrounding the possibility of establishing a Culture and Language Education Center at SKC. Then, secure funding, lead, and financially sustain the Culture and Language Education Center at SKC.
○ Support and strengthen our network of language scholars, highly fluent speakers, educators, and collaborators who support culture and language integration aligned with SKC’s mission.
○ Develop a written action plan with clear objectives, benchmarks, and timelines within the first weeks of the appointment, and regularly evolve it in collaboration with those in the language ecosystem.
○ Provide leadership and guidance for campus initiatives, including, but not limited to, recent and ongoing grant work to ensure they remain grounded and guided by cultural values, ways of being, CSKT’s Strategic Priorities, and feedback provided by the Culture Committees and other appropriate partners.
● Documentation, Curriculum, & Resource Development
○ In partnership with the Culture Committees and other language partners, support and amplify the documentation of our remaining highly fluent speakers and the translation of previously documented resources. This work will prioritize cultural safety, the comfort of our elders, and collaborative work with our partners to determine appropriate storage and use of shared knowledge.
○ Support the development of comprehensive curriculum materials. This work ensures that instructional lessons are not only linguistically accurate but are also culturally grounded and seamlessly integrate with existing language efforts in the community.
○ Coordinate the creation of language resources, including but not limited to digital and multimedia platforms and dictionaries that incorporate text, audio, and video, ensuring these tools are developed in accordance with the protocols and priorities as guided by the Culture Committees.
● Community Engagement & Advocacy
○ Coordinate mutual collaboration within SKC and with culture committees, Nk̓ʷusm, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Tribal Education Department.
○ Educate and advocate alongside partnering leaders and entities to strengthen institutional and financial support for community-wide culture and language revitalization efforts.
○ Lead the organization of community-centered events that strengthen language use.
○ Support the expansion of community-requested language programming.
○ Support Culture Committees, language teachers, and advocates, as guided, in investigating priorities and community-supported strategies and language programming at SKC.
● Partnerships & Funding
○ Identify funding opportunities and lead proposal development and fundraising campaigns to secure supplemental resources.
○ Cultivate and sustain partnerships with the culture and language education network, especially those of our sister tribes and other TCUs.
○ Ensure that sustainability and cultural perpetuation strategies and revenue models align with SKC's mission, vision, and strategic plans, while being responsive to or considerate of the Tribe’s strategic priorities.
3. Strategic & Capital Advisory This role provides the cultural lens through which the college's physical and financial future is viewed.
● Advise the President, Institutional Advancement Office (IAO), and other SKC departments and divisions on how the future capital campaign can prioritize cultural learning spaces and Indigenous-led workforce models.
● Advise the President to better ensure that institutional growth never outpaces or contradicts the College’s commitment to the values, ways of being, or self-determination of SKC and the CSKT.
● Advise and support the President and the campus about strengthening the culture and language foundation of campus-wide efforts.
Minimum Qualifications:
To apply you must submit an SKC application, cover letter, and applicable transcripts to Human Resources, P.O. Box 70, Pablo, MT 59855 or email Venessa_sandoval@skc.edu David_miller@skc.edu Your application must include evidence that you have the skills, experiences and abilities indicated in this announcement. Applicants must provide explanation of experience as an Eminent Scholar in the cover letter. Applicants are asked to provide copies of academic transcripts and any other educational, training or applicable credential or license, which may support your application for this position. The information you provide with your application and resume will be used as deciding factors in our employment process.
As an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, we encourage applications from minorities, veterans and women. SKC is a tribal member preference employer as set forth in SKC policy. SKC is a drug free workplace.
All pre-hires must pass a drug test before formal hiring. THC is on the panel.
www.skc.edu – check us out – it’s a great place to work!