In 1886 the school, initially a Christian elementary school of St. Francis Mission meant to serve Native students with English as a second language, was established. It had 200-person boarding facilities, with all students boarding, and had one building, though a second was later added and the boarding facilities filled. A fire destroyed the existing facilities in January 1916. Concrete replacement facilities were built and school resumed in fall 1916. The high school classes began in 1931. It had a peak enrollment of 500 in the 1940s and 1950s. The dormitories were decommissioned in the 1960s after improvements to the roads were implemented. Tribal control came in 1979.[3] Residents had a positive reception to gaining tribal control.[2]
By 2004 the school began hiring teachers from other countries to fill vacancies.[4]
Curriculum
In 1986, in addition to English and Lakota, the school had the following foreign languages available: German, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. Some languages classes were only open to high school students.[2]
