HISTORY :: Red Cloud Indian School

FACTS ABOUT RED CLOUD
2006-2007 Academic Year

Red Cloud Indian School has been providing a quality education of the mind and heart to Oglala Lakota (Sioux) students and pastoral care to their families on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota since 1888. Through the creation of three schools, sixteen parishes, and The Heritage Center, Red Cloud Indian School has walked with the Lakota people through the massive cultural transition of the last century.

We are educating the hearts and minds of the Lakota leaders of tomorrow – men and women of conscience, competence and confidence.
Pre-K through 12th grade education:
o Red Cloud Elementary School (including Montessori Pre-K through Kindergarten)
o Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School
o Red Cloud High School

SCHOOL FACTS
95% of the class of 2007 was accepted to colleges and universities across the nation, with 7 Gates Millennium Scholars.

Highest per capita rate of all Native American schools

High school girls’ basketball team regional champions

High school boys’ basketball team district champions

Promoting Lakota values, heritage, and culture in order to help students recognize their own giftedness as well as to educate the broader public.

Lakota Language Courses
o Mandatory in K-8th grades
o Mandatory Lakota Language I in high school
o Elective Lakota Language II in high school
o Lakota History and Culture Courses (Grades 9-12)

After-school Lakota dance/hand games club

THE HERITAGE CENTER
Collecting, preserving, and promoting Native art
Permanent collection of more than 5,000 pieces of Lakota and other North American Native art collected since 1969
40th Annual Red Cloud Indian Art Show creates an internationally renowned and juried competition. More than 10,000 visitors annually

EDUCATION
Language Bowl team took 2nd place at Lakota Nation Invitational in 2005

Hand Games Teams took 1st and 2nd places respectively at Lakota Nation Invitational in 2005 and 2004

Red Cloud High School Lakota Studies class took 1 of 3 national prizes that was awarded by The History Channel in Washington, DC, in the Spring 2007

The Dance Club attended the Spearfish Pow-Wow.

Heritage Center receives support for cataloguing and archiving permanent collection (to be completed 2009)

Education in history and practice of Lakota and Catholic religious traditions at every grade level

Sweat Lodge Ceremonies performed in high school

SPIRITUAL FORMATION
16 Jesuit Parishes

15 Jesuits and Sisters from several different religious communities
650-700 families served annually

$700,000 in annual operating costs

The Holy Rosary Church won the Architectural Design Award in 2000 for Synthesis of Lakota and Catholic Design Elements

Catholic Mass for students of each grade

Meeting people where they are, providing opportunities to achieve dreams, and partnering them to overcome social and economic challenges.

ABOUT THE RESERVATION
There are 46,000 Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

$6,143 per capita income

$4,000 at household level
69% of the children are below the poverty line

73%-85% unemployment Rate

Infant mortality rate 2.6 times the national average

Suicide rate 72% higher than the national average

Death Rates by Diabetes 5 times and Alcoholism 16 times the national average

Pine Ridge Reservation public schools have highest dropout rates in the nation

No Pine Ridge Reservation public school achieved adequate yearly progress in 2004/05

OUTREACH
Parish Halls serve as the Community Centers Often the Sole Facility for Hosting

Community Events such as:
Baptisms, wakes, funerals, weddings
Sewing circles
Alcoholics’ Anonymous groups
Interfaith groups
Food pantries
Health clinics

Healthy breakfasts, lunches and snacks are provided to students daily

Healthy Choices Week teaches Students positive decision-making skills

73% of students receive free or reduced lunches