| Little Big Horn College (LBHC) was chartered by the Crow Tribal Council in 1980 and granted full accreditation in 1990. Serving more than 200 full-time students, 88% of whom are Crow tribal members, it offers eight associate's degrees with courses of study that are directly related to job opportunities and economic development. LBHC also offers one of the most extensive programs of regularly taught native language and culture courses in the country, and is one of the only tribal colleges to require a two-semester Crow language sequence as one of its graduation requirements for all degree option programs.
The Crow Indian Reservation is located in south central Montana, encompassing nearly 5,000 square miles-nearly the size of Connecticut. The capitol of the Crow Tribal government is at Crow Agency, where Crow Tribe administrative offices, Bureau of Indian Affairs offices, the Indian Health Service hospital, and LBHC are all located. The tribe has a membership of 10,311, of whom 7,031 reside on the reservation. Approximately 11% of Big Horn County residents, 59% of whom are Crow Indians, receive cash assistance and 23% receive Food Stamps. Unemployment is 16.7% in the County and a staggering 61% on the Crow Reservation. The incomes of 81% of those members of the Reservation who have jobs are below the national poverty level. While Montana has one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country, 30% of Big Horn County residents over the age of 25 have not attained a high school diploma or GED.
The Crow Tribe has been proud of its efforts to retain the language and culture among its people. Some 85% of adults on the Reservation speak Crow as their primary language. In 1980, 75% of K-12 students on the Reservation spoke Crow as their primary language. However, over the last 10 years, a major shift away from Crow language use and fluency has occurred among children at elementary school age and below. This is of grave concern, since education research indicates that there is a strong relationship between the level of primary language loss and low academic performance.
LBHC is building a cultural Learning Lodge on the Crow Indian Reservation that will provide opportunities for LBHC's Crow Studies Department, the Apsaálooke Tours program, Crow Reservation schools, and members of the Reservation community to participate in the promotion, maintenance, and preservation of Crow culture and language. The Learning Lodge is grounded in the idea that addressing the weak overall language background of Crow students in both English and Crow while promoting a strong self-image through cultural awareness is the best way to close the academic performance gap for Crow children. It also encourages success among LBHC students, who are primarily bilingual or limited-English in background. While some may perceive language and culture as barriers to individual economic success, the Crow people find in their language and culture a strong foundation to gain knowledge and skills needed to determine their future and secure their heritage and resources.
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