The Tiospaye House

By 1970, at the University of South Dakota (USD), Upward Bound and Special Services helped promising high school Native students prepare for college, and once in college, lent them cultural and academical support. In addition, student led clubs, such as the Wapaha Club, started in 1957, and later the Tiospaye Student Council, became advocates for and supporters of Native American students at USD.

One aspect of Native American student support was allowing students to gather and live in a residential house. As part of the USD Photograph Collection, I came upon a negative of a house called by the photographer the “Indian Home.” The building was a two-story wood frame structure constructed in the early 20^th century.  Documents in Box 32 of the Institute of Indian Studies collection gave me a potential location for the building and informed me that the structure was called the Tiospaye House. The building was located on North Dakota Street where the USD Foundation building sits, west of the DakotaDome. The building was razed between 1972 and 1980.

Although the Tiospaye House was a transitory attempt to support Native American students, in 1988 a building located at 409 East Clark Street, once the Old Coffee House, became the Native American Cultural Center. According to a Vermillion Plain Talk article (December 8, 1988,) the building, dedicated in December 1988, was donated by Philips Crew, a USD alum, expressly to support Native American students. At present, it houses Native Student Services and promotes socially, culturally and community relevant programming throughout the year.

Thus, an early attempt for USD to offer a supportive structure for Native American students failed, but the current Native American Cultural Center adds much to the cultural and academic support and enlightenment of both Native and non-Native students.

The Tiospaye House in 1970. USD Archives and Special Collections. USD Photographs, Series 10 negative, # 1530.1.