We conducted an inspection of the Sicangu Owayawa Oti (Rosebud Dormitory), located on the Rosebud Reservation in Mission, SD, to determine the quality of safety measures in place to prevent violence against students and staff from internal and external threats. We found Sicangu Owayawa Oti's safety measures to be inadequate.
Specifically, Sicangu Owayawa Oti's comprehensive emergency plan did not adequately cover shootings and fights. In addition, while training in violence prevention and emergency preparedness was provided, we noted problems with the evacuation drill run during our visit. Further, the facility did not run lock-down drills.
Finally, of the 18 safety measures we checked for, Sicangu Owayawa Oti did not have 14 in place. While no single safety measure is so critical that its absence at an educational facility is cause for immediate concern, we found that the more safety measures not in place, the less prepared the facility is to respond to an incident.
We provided four recommendations to help Sicangu Owayawa Oti improve its safety measures, violence prevention, and emergency preparedness.