MCLAUGHLIN, S.D. – At first sight, K’lyn Ducheneaux saw something she wanted in the Flandreau Indian School: opportunity.
The Bureau of Indian Education-operated Flandreau Indian School has been educating Native American students since the late 19th century. Students, parents and former staff have raised concerns about the school's current medication practices.
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K’lyn Ducheneaux says she was coerced into taking medications prescribed to her while attending Flandreau Indian School, even when they made her feel worse.
Thousands of reports designated for recording abuse, neglect, injuries, life-threatening incidents and death have been filed since 2008 at the 55 schools the BIE operates directly.
Rogene Crawford, who worked at Flandreau from 1999 until 2022 as an academic secretary and as a staffer in the girls’ dormitory, said students who refused medication would sometimes receive punishments.
Larry Wissow, a child psychiatrist, said punishing minors who do not want to take medications is considered unethical.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Health Center, photographed on May 16, 2024, provides health services to Flandreau Indian School students.
The Flandreau Indian School, photograph May 15, 2024, has an enrollment of 112 students this school year.
The Flandreau Indian School Student and Parent Handbook says, “Students who are on medication will be required to take their prescribed medications. Failure to take prescribed medication is a Health and Safety issue and can result in FIS disciplinary action.”
Within the federal government's sprawling Bureau of Indian Education school system, allegations of abuse, neglect and even death at BIE schools have emerged over the past two decades.
K’lyn Ducheneaux, left, and Santana Vazquez are photographed outside their house in McLaughlin, South Dakota, on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. They both say they were medicated without their guardian's consent and under threat of punishment at Flandreau Indian School.
Mariah Fassett, who attended Flandreau from 2021 until 2023, said students were not only getting written up but also threatened with expulsion for resisting medication. She is photographed May 20, 2024, on the Spirit Lake Reservation in North Dakota.
Flandreau Indian School's Home Living building is photographed on May 15, 2024.
As Native American students face what one BIE superintendent called "extreme challenges," Circle of Nations School welcomed a reporter and photographer inside. "We want the exposure," an administrator said.
In this Series
Special Report: Problems persist within federal schools for Native Americans
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Updated
Native American kids cite abuse, danger at understaffed school, feds join calls for reform
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Updated
One year later, federal response to parental concerns about Native school still unclear
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Updated
Untrained employees mishandled kids’ meds at Native American boarding school, staff allege
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