Wahpeton Indian School (North Dakota)

Wahpeton Indian School was the last nonreservation boarding school to be established. It was opened in 1908. It was located 30 miles from the Sisseton reservation which resulted in large enrollments from that agency. However, students also came from Fort Berthold, Fort Totten, Standing Rock, and Turtle Mountain agencies in North Dakota, and the Leech Lake, Red Lake, and White Earth agencies in Minnesota. It was an agricultural school, an elementary school and, beginning in 1911, provided advanced vocational course work for older students. It closed in 1966.

Many of the records of Wahpeton are in the Central Plains Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Kansas City. Among the normal administrative records are:


 * Individual student case files, 1908-1966

Other types of records for Wahpeton Indian School included in this collection are described in the Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives.

One roll of microfilmed enrollment lists for the mid 1900s is in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City (their film number 1205163).

Microfilm copies of “Narrative and Statistical Reports” for Wahpeton are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, beginning with their film number 1724219.

References