Tribal Colleges - SD

The 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 was originally a vocational and technical school; academics were added as enrollment climbed and the need arose. Now SWC is one of the only post-secondary schools in South Dakota to offer both vocational and academic degrees. 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.

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 1989. This center's mission is to teach, study and preserve the tribe's unique history and traditions. 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.

Sisseton Wahpeton College has an average enrollment of approximately 300 students, of whom more than 80% are tribal members. Since our first graduating class in 1983, we have awarded more than 560 diplomas and certificates to SWC graduates. The College holds an alumni breakfast prior to graduation every year at the Dakota Magic Casino and an annual Founder's Day pow-wow every August to commemorate the day the college was founded.

The College has recently experienced a period of facilities 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.

Every employee at SWC works as a team to help our students succeed. We have an established retention program that involves most employees, as well as an on-site daycare, travel and gas assistance, and an entire department working to support our students and give them every possible opportunity for success.