Our Story

Our vision is for the Sicangu Lakota Oyate, or Rosebud Sioux Tribe, to have a thriving economy, built by educated citizens of all skillsets (lawyers, artists, chefs, doctors) that contribute to the collective knowledge and sovereignty of the Oyate. One of the largest barriers we face in achieving this vision is the Oyate’s low employment; it is a critical roadblock to sovereignty for the Oyate, as the majority of citizens are not able to self-determine their futures. Sovereignty can only be secured if the educated workforce stays in Rosebud. We must build a community where graduates can create or find jobs that pay enough to live and service student debt. Additionally, once this economy is developed, the structure required to preserve a language and culture so vital to wellbeing and identity will be present.

The vehicle through which this vision will come to fruition is our eventual relief-for-service program. Our full-ride scholarship, funded annually by a sustainable endowment, will require students to return to Rosebud for at least two years to work in exchange for this support. This program is to be modeled after relief-for-service programs that already exist such as the state of South Dakota’s Freedom Scholarship and the Indian Health Service’s Health Professions Scholarship. A number of community organizations are already doing phenomenal work in Rosebud towards sovereignty and economic development. We currently partner with a number of these organizations, as the only way we will achieve our vision is if all efforts in Rosebud pool their collective knowledge and talents. 

This is the beauty of the Lakota value system. It is about the collective, not the individual. Western knowledge our students bring back home is to benefit the collective. Their western knowledge is not to be an identity, but rather a tool for the Oyate to survive and prosper in this modern world.