Mission Statement:

It is the mission of the, Flagstaff Bordertown Dormitory, Inc. to prepare and empower all students for the choices and challenges they will face in the future by providing a positive, healthy, social and educational environment which is based on Diné/Navajo and Native American knowledge and language.

FBD History:

In 1955, the property where the FBD Campus is located today was established for the United States Forest Service Fire Department in Flagstaff, Arizona. Three years later, The Kinlani Bordertown Dormitory was built in 1958 by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and it originally housed 300 students in two dormitories, kindergarten through high school. The students were housed in large open wings with bunk beds arranged in close proximity. Students were enrolled in various Flagstaff Unified School District schools including: Flagstaff High School, Marshall School and South Beaver School. In the late 1960s, some students were transported to Coconino High School while other students were transported to Flagstaff High School. The Kinlani dorm has since discontinued accepting elementary school age children. By the late 1970s, the last of the students who had stayed at the dormitory from kindergarten through high school graduated. In 2003, under the direction of Mr. James Kimery, former principal of Kinlani Dormitory, the new BIA approved facility was built. Since, Kinlani Dormitory was renamed “Flagstaff Bordertown Dormitory, Inc.” and identified as a home living program.

The new 7 million dollar dormitory opened in 2008, with a capacity for 160 residents. The college-style rooms are designed with two beds per room connected with a shared bathroom to an adjacent room. Native American students who reside at the dormitory come from throughout Navajo Nation, Hopi, Havasupai, Tohono O’ Odham, and other locations within the Four Corners region. The FBD currently employs over 30 staff members for the care of students.

In 1957, the Bureau of Indian Affairs eventually took over the building for to serve as a residential facility for Native American Indian students (Kindergarten through 8th grade). These students attended South Beaver Elementary School up into the early 1970’s. Eventually, the Kinlani FBD Flagstaff Bordertown Dormitory residential facility began started, housing only high school students.

The philosophy of the FBD is to support educational policies by guiding Diné/Navajo and Native American youth to receive an essential education and be compatible in today’s society. Students are provided with a comfortable residential environment where they will meet the demands of our current educational system to develop self-awareness, learn to be self-sufficient, build self-confidence, learn to appreciate the values of life and become self-motivated to achieve their endeavors. Students will be prepared to meet the professional expectations and standards for their daily lives.