WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson will give the main address at the May 8 commencement ceremony for graduates of Sitting Bull College, a tribally controlled community college in Fort Yates, N.D., located on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, an area bisected by the North Dakota-South Dakota border. The event will be held at the tribe’s Prairie Knight Casino and Lodge Pavillion located south of Mandan, N.D., starting at 2:00 p.m. (CDT). The 2003-2004 graduating class of 54 students will be the largest in the college’s history.
Sitting Bull College is one of the nation’s first tribal colleges. Established in 1973 as the Standing Rock Community College under a charter granted by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the school began as a post-secondary educational institution with authority to grant degrees at the Associate level. It became known as Sitting Bull College in 1996. The college serves both the Standing Rock Reservation and the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. The college is accredited through the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the Higher Learning Commission. Through articulation agreements with Sinte Gleska University and Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota and Salish-Kootenai College in Montana, Sitting Bull College also offers four-year degrees to its students.
WHO: David W. Anderson, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior WHAT: Anderson will give the main address at the Sitting Bull College 2004 commencement ceremony.
WHEN: Saturday, May 8, 2004 starting at 2:00 p.m. (CDT)
WHERE: Prairie Knight Casino and Lodge Pavillion
Directions from Bismarck Airport
- Leaving airport, turn right onto University Drive.
- Follow University Drive to Bismarck Expressway (third stop light on University Dr.), then turn left onto Expressway.
- Take Expressway as it changes into I-94. Stay in left lane on Interstate and continue into Mandan, N.D., onto Main Street.
- Continue on Main Street to the turn-off for Hwy. 1806 (third stop light) and turn left onto Hwy. 1806.
- Continue south on Hwy. 1806 for approximately 45 miles to where the Prairie Knight Casino and Lodge can be seen on the left. It sits on a hill next to a gas station/convenience store.
Note to Editors: Credentialed media covering the event should be in place by 1:45 p.m. Press seating will be provided. The program will begin at 2:00 p.m.
