Providing technological opportunities and experiences; preparing
students for the future.
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is located in Cloquet, Minnesota, just off Interstate 35. The campus is situated in a beautiful setting, a 38-acre former tree farm of 60-foot tall majestic red pines. The college sits on top of a bluff overlooking Cloquet, a community of approximately 11,000 people. The Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee offices are approximately three miles away from the college. The Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College campus is the product of extensive consultation among tribal and civic leaders, business people, educators, and students. This group defined their needs and, with the help of a skilled architect, created a campus reflecting the integrated cultures of the Northeastern Minnesota area.

The symbolic concepts integrated in the design include: The sacred circle and the wheel represented in the campus ring road, which has its northerly slopes planted to represent the bear paw. Together, the bear paw and the circle represent strength and protection. The four directions and thecross are formed by the 90-foot-wide clearing in themiddle of the campus. The70-foot-wide building iscentered in the clearing. The four arms of the building represent the four directions, an American Indian symbol representing greater harmony in life. The four colors of the Fond du Lac Reservation are red, black, white, and yellow. They are used on the four exterior metal walls of the building, and are also representative of the four directions: north, south, east and west.

The theme of diversity is represented in the many different construction materials visible throughout the academic building, and in the varying sizes and shapes of the windows in the building. From above, the thunderbird dominates the shape of the academic building. Extensive use of large windows provides earth and sky views of the outdoor environment, and represent the importance of having a vision for the future. The building design combines straight lines and circular elements to depict the college’s role of bringing people from different backgrounds together in a safe, respectful place for everyone. The circular amphitheater is topped with a blue dome to represent the sky. Large floor-to- ceiling windows separate the two halves, indoors and outdoors, of the amphitheater circle. Floor tiles and carpeting in the amphitheater area are green and brown to represent the earth.