Meskwaki Settlement High School (7-12); Addition to Sac and Fox Settlement School (K-6)

Tama, Iowa

Firm

Leo A Daly

Client

Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi

Area

106,800 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$20,500,000

Completion Date

01/2009

The success of the Meskwaki K-8 Settlement School has prompted the tribe to expand its educational goals by constructing a new high school and community center. The existing K-8 school was completed in 2001 and has been a resounding success.
The Meskwaki program provides high-quality education with an emphasis on the history and culture of the tribe. Immediate goals include longer retention of students within tribal schools and providing more health, recreational and educational resources. Long-term goals include increasing high school graduation rates, encouraging more students to continue into post-secondary education, improving the overall health and wellness of the community, and ensuring the longevity of their people and their history.
The school’s classroom wings reference the tribe’s historic summer homes, which were elongated and enclosed platforms elevated above the earth for ventilation and safety. Adorning each wing is a woven masonry pattern reminiscent of the tribe’s art history. The “sky” windows provide natural light, ventilation and dissolution between “outside” and “inside.” Red masonry will be used, referencing the tribe known as the “red Earth People.”