Major Campus and Housing Improvements Underway at Wounded Knee District School Funded by the Great American Outdoors Act

The funding will support replacing the existing campus with new academic facilities and improving employee housing, empowering future generations of students and teachers.

South Dakota — Construction is underway at the Wounded Knee District School in Manderson, South Dakota. The Wounded Knee District School Board approved work to replace campus buildings and improve housing facilities, funded by the Great American Outdoors Act National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. These projects mark the first major construction investment at the school since its construction in 1961.

“The campus replacement and housing improvement projects at Wounded Knee District School will help ensure the Bureau of Indian Education can provide a quality education that prioritizes safety and a positive learning environment for our students,” said Bureau of Indian Education Director Tony Dearman. “This investment from the Great American Outdoors Act will benefit students, teachers, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe community for generations to come.”

Wounded Knee District School is affiliated with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and serves kindergarten through eighth-grade students. The Wounded Knee School Board is replacing the existing campus, which consists of six major buildings and three minor support structures, with new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver-designed academic facilities. This project also replaces major site infrastructure, including the 60-year-old water distribution and sewer collection systems; improves site drainage to divert water from around the school building; reconstructs roads, parking lots, and sidewalks; and installs a security fence. In addition, the project will include replacement and renovation of existing housing units to increase safety and improve residential options for school staff. This work will help provide a high-quality education experience for students and teachers and improve staff recruitment and retention.

“Wounded Knee District School's students, parents, staff, and community are looking forward to being in the much-needed new school that will provide a safe learning environment for our students and something our community can be proud of,” said Principal Monica Whirlwind Horse.

Signed into law by President Donald Trump on August 4, 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund provides over $8 billion to U.S. Department of the Interior bureaus to address priority deferred maintenance on infrastructure at public lands and BIE-funded schools. As part of this historic program, BIE receives $475 million to address priority maintenance needs at BIE-funded schools through infrastructure projects, including campus replacements, improvements to faculty and staff housing, and demolition of outdated, unused buildings. These funds have enabled transformational, long-lasting improvements to facilities and infrastructure at BIE-funded schools necessary to provide safe, sustainable, and engaging learning environments that students need to excel.

The Bureau of Indian Education supports educational opportunities for more than 400,000 American Indian and Alaska Native students nationwide through early childhood, K–12, and postsecondary programs. BIE directly operates 55 schools and funds 128 Tribally controlled schools across 23 states. The Bureau also provides early childhood and special education services, and it advances postsecondary opportunities by operating Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute. For more information, visit the BIE website.

(Photo: Design rendering of the new Wounded Knee District School Campus, Photo Credit: Co-op Architecture)