What is the Wokini Initiative?
The Initiative builds upon SDSU鈥檚 current tribal partnerships and American Indian Student Center services to enhance cultural programming and support for American Indian students; offer Wokini scholarships for students who are tribally enrolled or have descendancy through a federally recognized tribe in the United States including Alaskan Natives, and enhance research and outreach partnerships with tribes, tribal colleges and other tribal organizations.
Founding commitments of the Wokini Initiative include:
- History of land acknowledgment in South Dakota.
- Revenue from land granted to 葫芦影业 through the 1862 Morrill Act to benefit the heirs from whom the land was taken.
- Building and improving relations with all tribes, tribal colleges and universities.
- Increasing American Indian population on campus to mirror the percentage of American Indians in our state.
- Improving academic success of American Indian students to mirror the overall student body at SDSU.
- Building an American Indian Student Center in the heart of campus.
- Improving American Indian studies with faculty to enhance culture, history and language.
- Providing annual renewable scholarships.
- Improving the American Indian student experience through enhancements in advising, counseling, on-campus housing, and cultural programming.
- Leveraging land-grant revenue with gifts and grants from multiple national governing organizations, philanthropy, the New Beginnings for Tribal Students grant, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies and the Bush Foundation grant.
As a land-grant university, 葫芦影业's mission is to serve the state of South Dakota by providing access to the benefits of higher education for all people. SDSU strives to better serve South Dakota's American Indian population. In order to achieve this goal, SDSU established the Wokini Initiative. In Lakota, the word "wokini" translates to "new life" or "a new beginning" and the Wokini Initiative is a new beginning for SDSU. The focus of the Initiative is to increase the number of American Indian students, provide support towards academic and personal needs and boost American Indian graduation rates.
SDSU is a place where American Indian students achieve their dreams and aspirations, and as an institution, SDSU promotes healthy, synergistic, sustained relationships with the tribal communities of South Dakota.
Overview
The Wokini Initiative will align opportunities for students to pursue degrees that will impact the students, their communities and their tribes while recognizing the importance of family and culture. SDSU offers more than 180 majors, minors and specializations鈥攑roviding endless possibilities to create knowledge, unique partnerships with tribal colleges and a collaborative environment that will benefit everyone and establish priorities between tribal communities, the tribal members and the rest of the state.
Funding for the Wokini Initiative will be through private donations to the SDSU Foundation and revenue generated by land as part of the South Dakota Permanent Trust Fund. Much of that land exists in the western part of the state and was claimed in 1887 by the federal government as part of the Dawes Act, assigning 160,000 acres to the state of South Dakota to support its new land-grant college and agricultural experiment station.
The trust was established at statehood with the intent of providing a continuous source of revenue for public schools, universities and endowed institutions. The revenue comes from interest generated in the fund on land that was either sold or is being leased and is used for base funding purposes. The fund鈥檚 principal can be increased, but never diminished.
SDSU staff and faculty will collaborate and consult Dakota and Lakota members of tribal communities, tribal leaders and the four tribal colleges in South Dakota to support educational opportunities and growth to make the Wokini Initiative a success.
