NWTC, Oneida Nation sign partnership charter renewal

Heather Graves

Staff

June 28, 2023

GREEN BAY – As a mom of three, Amber Martinez, a tribal member of the Oneida Nation and current Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) student, said returning to school at age 34 was scary and full of uncertainty.

“Being a student again after 15 years was intimidating – that’s why it took me so long to enroll,” she said. “Now that I am a student, I wish I had done it a long time ago. My age and the fact I have children are reasons I chose to attend NWTC.”

Martinez said the partnership NWTC has with the Oneida Nation has been critical to the success she has been able to achieve thus far as a student at the college.

“The Oneida Nation has helped financially with scholarships and has been supportive with direct communication with NWTC to make sure I’m able to achieve my utmost potential here,” she said. “The staff at NWTC is so unbelievably welcoming – they offer so many resources here to help students and their families. I’m thankful to NWTC for working side by side with the Oneida Nation to make all of this possible for us.”

It’s the success of Martinez and hundreds of other Oneida Nation students – past, present and future – that sparked the two entities to renew their years-old partnership to further support the needs of Oneida students, its workforce and the community.

Amber Martinez, a tribal member of the Oneida Nation, is currently pursuing an associate’s degree in business entrepreneurship at NWTC. Photo Courtesy of NWTC

Continued dedication
Oneida Nation Chairman Tehassi Hill said signing the renewed agreement with NWTC “further deepens and strengthens our relationship with the college.”

“Our nation has had a long partnership with NWTC,” he said. “It is a great opportunity and honor… to sign this agreement.”

For decades, Hill said the Oneida Nation has dedicated many resources to helping educate tribal members through higher education.

He said this renewed partnership with NWTC – which started nearly a decade ago – continues that dedication.

“Oneida students are encouraged to take advantage of these great opportunities, which can serve as a helpful guide when making career choices,” he said. “Ensuring our students are set up for success is important, especially when we talk about Seven Generations. Working together can provide our communities with more collaborative resources and build lifelong learning skills for all.”

According to the agreement, its purpose is to:

Develop and maintain a strategic collaboration that strengthens tribal nation-building.Inspire tribal members to successfully complete post-secondary technical education.Transform and sustain the economic and social vitality of the nation and its members.
NWTC President Emeritus Jeffrey Rafn said strengthening the relationship with the Oneida Nation “is of the highest priority.”

Rafn said the partnership charter between the Oneida Nation and NWTC – which is located on the northeast corner of the Oneida Reservation – was created to provide citizens and employees of Oneida Nation pathways to family-sustaining careers. 

“As we share in the land and the history of the Oneida Nation, I am pleased to sign this charter on behalf of NWTC and renew the college’s commitment to the educational and economic well-being of the Oneida Nation,” he said.

Jeffrey Rafn, left, and Tehassi Hill said the partnership was created to provide citizens and employees of the Oneida Nation with pathways to family-sustaining careers. Heather Graves Photo

Rafn said he remembers when he first came to NWTC 26 years ago, one of the college’s largest populations of students of color was from the Oneida Nation – “typically 100 or so a year.”

“And at the same time, I also remember whenever anybody talked to me, about the people of color who lived in our community, they never mentioned the Oneida Nation,” he said.

Rafn said he also remembers when meeting people from the Oneida Nation, they would often refer to NWTC as “our college.”

“I’ve always remembered that, and I want to make sure this is your college and we are meeting the needs of your nation, because your people make our college so much more vibrant and are an integral part of our community,” he said.

Rafn said, “they are a part of our community.”

“And I don’t want to say ‘they’ anymore,” he said. “We together are an integral part of this college, of this community and the vibrancy of the economy that is around us. I am pleased to be able to sign this agreement and to make sure we continue to be your college, and we are a group that supports you and your needs and the growth of your community.”

A strong foundation
Dr. Artley Skenandore, principal of Oneida Nation High School, said the continued partnership between NWTC and the Oneida Nation is based on the “foundation of respect.”

“Signing an agreement is history,” he said. “But it’s also a platform for those after us to look at and say that was their intention – to make sure we continue to go forward with the strongest of minds, not only for individuals of our nation but also for our families and ultimately for the greater community, which the nation is a part of.”

This partnership, Hill said, focuses on priority areas and opportunities of the Oneida Nation. 

Dana Bzdawka is an account executive with NWTC’s corporate training and economic development department, a member of the NWTC Intertribal Employee Involvement Group representative, a part-time instructor in NWTC’s College of Business and a member of the NWTC Oneida Nation Partnership Committee.

“My work within the college’s corporate training department includes coordinating hundreds of hours of training to upscale the workforce of the Oneida Nation, including with the Oneida Police Department, security, governmental services, human resources, comprehensive housing, health and higher education,” he said. “It’s fulfilling to have my work in line with my traditional beliefs of serving our people.”

Bzdawka said in 2018, Native American employees of NWTC began discussing how they could come together to build cultural awareness, respect and activity at the college, as well as improve retention of Native American influence.

“In 2020, the Intertribal Employee Involvement Group was formed – the first of its kind at the college with more than 20 members representing 10 tribal nations – and set out to positively impact the college and the community as a whole,” he said.

Bzdawka said this partnership not only reinforces the college’s commitment to the Oneida Nation, but it also reinforces its commitment to all Native students and employees.

“(As a PowWow MC), Skenandore often says, ‘at this time,’ when announcing what is to happen,” he said. “I asked him about that, and he explained we announce our intentions not only to the people but all of the things around us to let them know we’re doing things in the best possible way. I share that because to me, being intentional and announcing those intentions is what this charter is all about.”

Areas of focus
Through the renewed partnership, NWTC and Oneida Nation will work together to create programs and services more accessible to tribal students.

“One of the things I’ve come to know and embrace, and I’ve said to many students, is you have to make a difference for your family,” Skenandore said. “And you make a difference for your family by making a difference for yourself individually.”

Some focus areas of the renewed charter include:

Supporting the Oneida Nation’s workforce development goals in areas of health sciences, trades and engineering technologies.Providing clearer and more accessible student services.Expanding dual-credit college courses and early access to higher education for Oneida students at the K-12 level.
Rafn said the Oneida Nation has worked with NWTC in regard to sustainable agriculture.

“The nation brings to us many lessons and opportunities for us to learn more about sustainable agriculture and the environment – how we protect our environment and the land on which we live,” he said.