Circle of Nations Wahpeton Indian School

Circle of Nations Wahpeton Indian School, formerly Wahpeton Indian School, is a tribally-controlled grade 4-8{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&Zip=56520&Miles=5&ID=590009500083|title=Circle of Nations|publisher=National Center of Education Statistics|accessdate=2021-07-12}} school in Wahpeton, North Dakota.

It is affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).{{cite web|url=https://www.bie.edu/schools/directory/circle-of-nations-wahpeton-indian-school|title=Circle of Nations Wahpeton Indian School|publisher=Bureau of Indian Education|accessdate=2021-07-11}} It is not on an Indian reservation.{{cite web|url=https://www.wahpeton.com/index.asp?SEC=8F380B94-2881-44AE-87D3-2A9BF6FFEAD2&DE=56B16B7B-884E-403F-A9F5-1B9ACB8666DF|title=Circle of Nations School|publisher=Wahpeton, North Dakota|accessdate=2021-07-11}}

History

The United States Congress passed a law establishing the school in 1904, with Porter James McCumber of North Dakota championing the law. President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt signed the act into law.{{cite web|url=https://www.circleofnations.org/assets/pdfs/history-1904-1915.pdf|title=The First 11 years (1904 - 1915)|publisher=Circle of Nations|accessdate=2021-07-11}} The school began taking students in 1908.{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalhorizonsonline.org/digital/collection/uw-ndshs/id/3581/|title=Government Indian School, Wahpeton, N.D.|publisher=State Historical Society of North Dakota|accessdate=2021-07-11}} Its first classes were held in February, and it was controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).GPO-DOI report, PDF p. 7/29.

The school previously used harsh discipline that was used in various Indian boarding schools in the United States.{{cite web|last=Kelley|first=Matt|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-09-me-35385-story.html|title=Cruelty's Impact Indelible on Survivors|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1999-05-09|accessdate=2021-07-11}} In 1929, area businesspersons investigated the school after receiving reports of starvation.{{cite news|title=Tribal school investigated in 1929|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Argus Leader|place=Sioux Falls, South Dakota|date=1993-12-26|page=5D}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81291355/for-wahpeton-indian-school/ Clipping] from Newspapers.com. In 1947 the BIA initially was to close the school, but instead kept it open with reduced enrollment.{{cite news|title=Numerous problems reported|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Bismarck Tribune|place=Bismarck, North Dakota|date=1993-12-26|page=6D}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81292073/for-wahpeton-indian-school/ Clipping] from Newspapers.com.

There were plans to close the school in 1985.{{cite news|last=Foley|first=Ellen|title=Wahpeton Indian School is a home and hope|newspaper=Minneapolis Star-Tribune|date=1982-06-27|pages=4–13 (minus advertisements)}} - Clippings from Newspapers.com: pages [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81294701/for-wahpeton-indian-school/ 4], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81294797/for-wahpeton-indian-school/ 5], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81294952/for-wahpeton-indian-school/ 6], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81312824/for-wahpeton-indian-school/ 8], and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81312878/for-wahpeton-indian-school/ 13].

In 1992 U.S. House member Byron Dorgan received reports from a counselor at Wahpeton related to abuse, and Dorgan reported them to the BIA. By 1993 the federal and North Dakota governments investigated matters at the school.{{cite news|last=Wheeler|first=Marilynn|title=Troubles at Wahpeton Indian School continue|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Bismarck Tribune|place=Bismarck, North Dakota|date=1993-12-26|page=6D}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81293116/for-wahpeton-indian-school/ Clipping] from Newspapers.com.

In June 1993 it became a tribally controlled school as the Wahpeton Indian School Board, Incorporated assumed ownership of the school, and from that point forward the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), later called the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), began providing grants. The school received its current name in 1994.

In 1994 the BIA released a report regarding conditions at the school. Kent Conrad, a U.S. Senator from the state, dismissed it, calling it "a sham and a whitewash."{{cite news|title=Report on Wahpeton school called a 'whitewash'|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Bismarck Tribune|location=Bismarck, North Dakota|date=1994-02-09|page=2E}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81313614/for-wahpeton-indian-school/ Clipping] from Newspapers.com.

By the 1990s the people overseeing the school were formerly students in the boarding school and created a regime that prohibited verbal or physical abuse.

In 2018 Tanner Rabbithead became the CEO and Trevor Gourneau became the principal.{{cite web|last=Stanko|first=Frank|url=https://www.wahpetondailynews.com/news/new-principal-ceo-at-circle-of-nations/article_c1bfaa50-a57b-11e8-a4cc-bfaa80427199.html|title=New principal, CEO at Circle of Nations|newspaper=Wahpeton Daily News|date=2018-08-21|accessdate=2021-07-11}}

Student body

Its students originate from 18 states, with 33 tribes represented.

{{As of|1982}} many of the students come from situations with food insecurity and/or school absenteeism. In some cases families with domestic problems send their children to Wahpeton so that when the situations are resolved, the children may return and the family may save face, versus the loss of reputation and permanency from foster care.

References

{{cite web|url=https://www.doioig.gov/reports/selected-aspects-circle-nations-wahpeton-indian-school|title=Selected Aspects of the Circle of Nations Wahpeton Indian School|publisher=Office of the Inspector General|date=June 1996}} - [https://www.doioig.gov/sites/doioig.gov/files/96-i-995.pdf PDF], [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-DOI-IGREPORTS-96-i-995/pdf/GPO-DOI-IGREPORTS-96-i-995.pdf Alternate link]