Sisseton Wahpeton College

Sisseton Wahpeton College
Type	as an entity of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate.
Established	1979
President	Harvey DuMarce
Students	250 (80% Dakota people)
Undergraduates	vocational and academic degrees
Postgraduates	not available
Location	BIA Rd 700, Agency Village P.O. Box 689, Sisseton 57262, South Dakota, USA 57262 45°33′46″N 97°03′39″W / 45.56271°N 97.06074°W / 45.56271; -97.06074Coordinates: 45°33′46″N 97°03′39″W / 45.56271°N 97.06074°W / 45.56271; -97.06074
Campus	urban/suburban reserve on the Lake Traverse Reservation
Website	www.swc.tc

Sisseton Wahpeton College was established in 1979 as an entity of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. Located in northeastern South Dakota on the Lake Traverse Reservation, the College serves the Dakota people. SWC has an average enrollment of approximately 250 students, of whom more than 80% are tribal members.^[1]

History

SWC was originally a vocational and technical school; an academic program was added as enrollment climbed. SWC is one of the few post-secondary schools in South Dakota to offer both vocational and academic degrees.

Programs

Although SWC is only accredited to offer associate degrees, the College has agreements with several 4-year degree granting institutions that allow SWC students to take much of their course work at SWC or seamlessly matriculate to another institution. The agreement between SWC and Mount Marty College offers SWC students the opportunity to earn a Baccalaureate degree in Business and Tribal Governance, a one of a kind program in the state.

Partnerships

SWC is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), which is a community of tribally and federally chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations and make a lasting difference in the lives of American Indians and Alaska Natives. SWC was created in response to the higher education needs of American Indians. SWC generally serves geographically isolated populations that have no other means accessing education beyond the high school level.^[2]

Institute for Dakota Studies

SWC was one of the first tribal colleges to establish an institute for the study and preservation of tribal culture. The college created the Institute for Dakota Studies in 1992. This center's mission is to teach, study and preserve the tribe's unique history and traditions.

Center for Excellence in Dakota Language

The Center for Excellence in Dakota Language, established at SWC in 2005, works with the College's strong Dakota studies and Dakota Language programs to revitalize the Dakota language. Eventually, this program hopes to establish a revitalization model that can be replicated anywhere in Indian Country.

Campus

The College has recently experienced a period of facilities and programmatic expansion and one of the final products of this construction boom was Song to the Great Spirit, the new SWC Vocational Education Building. Designed as a facility where students could learn building trades by constructing a single family home inside, the building's unique design makes the SWC campus a local landmark. The building is an example of culturally contextual architectural design and is in the shape of four Indian figures who, with drumsticks raised, are singing a traditional Dakota song using their drum. The building honors SWC's history and the history of the Dakota people. The figures are made of fiberglass and are almost fully functional with two housing stairwells, one the elevator and the other the utility and storage closets. In addition to this new building, the college has almost doubled its square footage with a classroom and office addition and an Early Childhood Education Center addition.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sisseton Wahpeton College.

North American Tribal Colleges and Universities

Canada

Alberta	Blue Quills First Nations College Maskwacis Cultural College Old Sun Community College Red Crow Community College Yellowhead Tribal College

British Columbia	Native Education Centre Nicola Valley Institute of Technology

Manitoba	Yellowquill College

Nunavut	Akitsiraq Law School Nunavut Arctic College

Ontario	Anishinabek Education Institute First Nations Technical Institute Kenjgewin Teg Educational Institute Iohahi:io Akwesasne Adult Education Centre Negahneewin College Ogwehoweh Skills and Trades Training Centre Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute Seven Generations Education Institute Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig Six Nations Polytechnic

Saskatchewan	First Nations University of Canada

United States

Alaska	Iḷisaġvik College

Arizona	Diné College Tohono O'odham Community College

California	D–Q University

Kansas	Haskell Indian Nations University

Michigan	Bay Mills Community College Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College

Minnesota	Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Leech Lake Tribal College Mille Lacs Tribal College Red Lake Nation College White Earth Tribal and Community College

Montana	Aaniiih Nakoda College Blackfeet Community College Chief Dull Knife College Fort Peck Community College Little Big Horn College Salish Kootenai College Stone Child College

Nebraska	Little Priest Tribal College Nebraska Indian Community College

New Mexico	Institute of American Indian Arts Navajo Technical University Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

North Dakota	Cankdeska Cikana Community College Fort Berthold Community College Sitting Bull College Turtle Mountain Community College United Tribes Technical College

Oklahoma	Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College College of the Muscogee Nation Comanche Nation College Pawnee Nation College

South Dakota	Oglala Lakota College Sinte Gleska University Sisseton Wahpeton College

Washington	Northwest Indian College

Wisconsin	College of Menominee Nation Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College

Wyoming	Wind River Tribal College

Colleges and universities in South Dakota

Public

Research institutions	South Dakota State University of South Dakota

Master's institutions	Black Hills State Dakota State

Baccalaureate institutions	Northern State

Tribal institutions	Oglala Lakota College Sisseton Wahpeton College

Special-focus institutions	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Associate's institutions	Lake Area Tech Mitchell Tech Southeast Tech Western Dakota Tech

Others governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents	School for the Blind and Visually Impaired School for the Deaf Public Universities and Research Center Capitol University Center Higher Education Center-West River

Private

Baccalaureate institutions	Augustana Dakota Wesleyan Mount Marty Presentation University of Sioux Falls

Tribal institutions	Sinte Gleska University

Special-focus institutions	Sioux Falls Seminary

Associate's institutions	Kilian Community College Globe University–Sioux Falls

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