LCOOC Student named “Indigenous Visionary”
A student leader at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College is one of four women named as a 2021-22 “Indigenous Visionary” by the American Indian College Fund.
Louise K. Waakaa’igan (Anishinaabe) is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in human services at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College while working at the college as the advancement coordinator.
In collaboration with her mentor, she will create a “Kwe Book,” a history of women leaders and founders at the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College. She will catalog their interviews and stories throughout the project for future generations. Faith Smith, a curator for the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe, will serve as mentor.
Also named as Indigenous Visionaries are Harley-Daniel Interpreter (Navajo) at Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona; Sasha Sillitti (Three Affiliated Tribes) at Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in New Town, North Dakota; and ArriAnna Henry (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Bitterroot Salish) at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Montana.
The American Indian College Fund is committed to developing women leaders across Indian Country through its Indigenous Visionaries Program in Tribal communities where tribal colleges and universities are located.
*This article was originally published by the Sawyer County Record, February 2, 2022. Visit:
Louise Waakaa’igan
Mentor, Faith Smith