Chief Dull Knife College
Address: P.O. Box 98, Lame Deer, MT 59043
Phone: (406) 477-6215
Website: www.cdkc.edu
Location: In the community of Lame Deer, on the 445,000-acre Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeastern Montana.
Established: 1975
Chartering Tribe: Northern Cheyenne
President: Richard Littlebear
Land Grant College: Yes
Enrollment: 197 (Fall 2014)
Associate degree programs
- Administrative Assistant
- Business Management
- General Studies
Non-degree programs/Certificates
- Office Assistant
“We can no longer live the way we used to. We cannot move around anymore the way we were brought up. We have to learn a new way of life. Let us ask for schools to be built in our country so that our children can go to these schools and learn this new way of life.”
~Chief Dull Knife
Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC) is located in the small town of Lame Deer, Montana on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. It was chartered in September 1975 by tribal ordinance as the Northern Cheyenne Indian Action Program, Incorporated.
Originally intended to prepare tribal members for local mining, construction and forestry jobs, CDKC lacked an actual campus site and operated out of U.S. Army tents until the Bureau of Indian Affairs eventually provided funds for facilities.
College facilities have improved in recent years, with the construction of several new buildings using green-build straw bale technology. With the addition of interactive television technology at CDKC, the college has expanded opportunities for upper level students to complete advanced degrees online.
The college moved from its job training focus to begin offering post secondary courses in 1978. Eventually, it received Land Grant Status in 1994, and accreditation from the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities in 1996.
Previously known as Dull Knife Memorial College, the college received its new name, Chief Dull Knife College, in 2001.
CDKC’s associate’s degree of arts programs do not require a major. Instead, students fulfill their academic foundations (previously general education) requirements focusing in one of eight fields of study. Such credits transfer to four-year institutions in the Montana University System. In addition, CDKC offers two additional programs for an associate’s degree of applied science and one certificate program for students wishing to enter the workforce immediately.
The college also leads tribal language preservation efforts, with 10% of students enrolled in Cheyenne language classes.
The college employs 13 full-time faculty members. 70% of students enroll as part-time students in this economically depressed area.
In 2011, the renowned Aspen Institute named Chief Dull Knife College as one of only three tribal colleges listed among the nation’s top 10 percent of community colleges.
