Tribally-owned firm seeking Oral History Narrators

Rotunda at the new Oyate Health Center on the Sioux San Campus in Rapid City designed by Seven Generations Architecture + Engineering (7GAE). (Courtesy photo)

KALAMAZOO, MI – Seven Generations Architecture + Engineering (7GAE), a southwest Michigan based, tribally owned AE firm is working to preserve native histories in Rapid City. At present, 7GAE is seeking Lakota narrators with personal or familial recollections of the Rapid City Indian School (RCIS), Sioux Sanatorium, and west river daily life between 1898 and 1960. These recollections could be in the form of direct knowledge (e.g., they were a patient at the Tuberculosis Sanatorium) or indirect/familial experience (e.g., they had a relative that attended the Rapid City Indian School).

7GAE’s connection with this historic site began with the initial design of the Oyate Health Center in 2017. By 2019, 7GAE was contracted to begin Mitigation Activities as required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act when a historic resource (the “Sioux San” campus) is negatively impacted by an undertaking (the construction of the Oyate Health Center). A total of nine distinct tasks were included in our scope of work and are summarized below:

Establishing Context – Complete archive research and a series of oral history interviews.
Architectural Documentation – LiDAR scans produced detailed plans and elevation drawings.
Rehabilitation Plan – Propose new contemporary uses for the remaining historic structures.
Pictorial Display – Design a small interpretive display to be installed at the OHC.
Interpretive Booklet – Design a 30-page book that will complement the Pictorial Display.
Re-Evaluation of Property Eligibility – Assess the condition of the previously eligible historic district.
Presentations – Present a total of three public presentations about the project and its findings.
Sensitivity Training – All contractors working on the site were required to undergo sensitivity training and assist in monitoring the demolition and construction of the new facility. Our team conducted and recorded this training.
Archeological Monitoring and Unanticipated Discovery Response – Our team (including Archeologists and Tribal Cultural Specialists) worked with the CRST, OST, and RST THPOs throughout the demolition of the historic structures to ensure any culturally or archeologically significant objects were protected.

As a tribally owned firm, 7GAE understands that earning the trust necessary to complete this project is challenging but we are committed to doing this work in a good way. In recent months, our focus has been on completing the Oral History interviews called for in Task 1: Establishing Context. Our team believes that these interviews will bring additional depth to our understanding of this site’s history through the medium of storytelling. The communities’ lived experience, which is not present in the majority of archival documents we reviewed, is an essential component of building a more complete historic context. We have an abundance of information about what the Indian School and Sanatorium meant to the administrators and government officials who ran the campus between the 1890s and 1960s but have very little information about the site’s impact on tribal citizens through to the present day.

The project team will return to South Dakota the week of September 11th to conduct interviews with those that are interested in participating and have a connection to the RCIS and Sioux Sanatorium. Prospective narrators can reach us by filling out the response form (under “Reason for Inquiry” prospective narrators would select “OHC Storytelling”) or by using the contact information at the top of this release.

ABOUT SEVEN GENERATIONS ARCHITECTURE + ENGINEERING, A PART OF BODWÉ PROFESSIONAL SERVICES GROUP

Seven Generations Architecture + Engineering (7GAE) has established a tradition of sustainable solutions inspired by our Indigenous lineage and the understanding that today’s generation is responsible for the prosperity of generations to come. The firm’s collaborative, interdisciplinary skill sets include research, planning, architecture, engineering, and interior design with a human-centered approach to creative solutions for built environments. 7GAE is located in Kalamazoo, MI, and partners with purpose and intention alongside our clients on Tribal, federal, and community projects. To learn more, visit www.7GenAE.com.

Bodwé is the Professional Services Group of Mno-Bmadsen, the non-gaming investment enterprise of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. Bodwé Group is comprised of Seven Generations Architecture + Engineering, WBK Engineering, The Steelhead Engineering Company, and Blue Star Integrative Studio. Bodwé teams provide architecture, interior design, master planning, environmental consulting, and structural, civil, and MEP engineering design and staffing services. We partner with Indigenous, healthcare, federal and municipal government, community, and private clients across the country. Learn more at: www.bodwegroup.com

ABOUT MNO-BMADSEN

Mno-Bmadsen is a wholly owned instrumentality of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, founded in 2012 and independently managed with the mandate to diversify the Tribe’s business interests, revenue streams, and wealth for future generations. The Mno-Bmadsen portfolio of actively managed operating companies includes Bodwé Professional Services Group, D.A. Dodd Construction Services Group, Mno-DREK Manufacturing Services Group, and Cressy Commercial Real Estate Services. Learn more at: www.mno-bmadsen.com

ABOUT THE POKAGON BAND OF POTAWATOMI

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi’s sovereignty was reaffirmed under legislation signed into law by President Clinton in September of 1994. The Pokagon Band is dedicated to providing community development initiatives such as housing, education, family services, medical care, and cultural preservation for its more than 6,000 citizens. The Pokagon Band’s ten-county service area includes four counties in Southwestern Michigan and six in Northern Indiana. Its main administrative offices are located in Dowagiac, Mich., with a satellite office in South Bend, Ind. The Pokagon Band operates a variety of non-gaming businesses through its investment enterprises, Mno-Bmadsen, and the Pokagon Development Authority. More information is available at www.pokagonband-nsn.gov.

Media Contacts:

Alex Hokkanen, Project Manager

Seven Generations AE

763.234.1962

ahokkanen@bodwegroup.com