Dr. Richard Earl (Dick) Littlebear

Visiting Scholar Week: September 9th-13th, 2024

Dr. Richard Earl (Dick) Littlebear was born in Lame Deer, MT, on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. His early education took place in Busby, MT, where he attended school until the 7th grade. Demonstrating academic aptitude, he skipped the 8th grade and advanced directly to 9th grade at Busby before transferring to Lind, Washington, where he repeated the 9th grade.

After graduating from Lind High School, Dr. Littlebear pursued higher education and earned a BA in English Studies. Following his undergraduate studies, he served two years in the U.S. Army, receiving an honorable discharge in 1967. He continued his academic journey by earning a master’s degree from Montana State University in Bozeman and later completed an Ed.D. at Boston University in 1994.

Dr. Littlebear is now happily retired after serving as the president of Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC) on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Beyond his professional achievements, he has been happily married to Jan Littlebear for 44 years; she is a member of the Spider clan (Ve’ho’e).

His career has been diverse, including service in the U.S. Army from December 1965 to December 1967, where he was honorably discharged. During his time with the Auerbach Corporation in Philadelphia, PA, from 1970 to 1973, he traveled to nearly every Rancheria, Colony, and Reservation west of the Mississippi River, gaining invaluable experience and insight.

Dr. Littlebear also worked at Dawson College for two years, followed by a position at Busby School, and later joined a non-profit organization that supported minority schools. In 1996, he returned to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, where he remained until 2022. The Cheyenne language is Dr. Littlebear's first language, and he considers his ability to read and write in Cheyenne, a skill developed while living in Alaska, to be his greatest academic achievement.