Carlisle, Pennsylvania; December 16th, 2025
Dickinson College has formally proceeded with construction plans for the Jim Thorpe Center for the Futures of Native Peoples in Carlisle, a project confirmed through multiple distinct institutional records, ceremonial documentation, and program materials issued directly by the college, marking a significant expansion of its stated engagement with Indigenous education, history, and future-focused scholarship.
The establishment of the center is grounded in a $20 million gift formally announced by DICKINSON COLLEGE, with the college’s own gift announcement specifying that the funding enables construction of a dedicated facility to house the Center for the Futures of Native Peoples, as well as long-term support for programming and public engagement. The announcement identifies the building as the Jim Thorpe Center and confirms its location at the northeast corner of College and Louther Streets, placing it within close proximity to the historic grounds associated with the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School.
The commencement of the project was marked by a ground-blessing ceremony documented by DICKINSON COLLEGE, which recorded the event as a formal beginning of construction activity. Institutional materials describing the ceremony indicate participation by Indigenous leaders, students, faculty, and community members, and identify the event as a ceremonial acknowledgment of the site’s historical context and the intended future use of the space.
Program documentation issued by DICKINSON COLLEGE, through its official materials for the Center for the Futures of Native Peoples, describes the center’s mission as supporting Indigenous-led research, education, archival recovery, and public programming. Those materials state that the center’s work includes collaboration with Native nations and communities, educational initiatives addressing the legacy of Indian boarding schools, and academic programming designed to center Indigenous voices and leadership. The new facility is identified as the permanent home for these activities.
The building bears the name of JIM THORPE, a citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation and a former student of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a fact acknowledged in institutional records published by DICKINSON COLLEGE. The naming, as described in those records, links the center’s forward-looking mission to a historical figure whose life intersected with the boarding school system while emphasizing Indigenous achievement and continuity rather than institutional commemoration.
Historical context informing the center’s mission is further reflected in primary archival materials maintained by DICKINSON COLLEGE ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, through the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center. Those archival records document the operation of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School from 1879 to 1918 and preserve original student files and federal records, including materials related to Jim Thorpe, providing a documented historical foundation for the educational and research work associated with the new center.
Institutional materials authored by DICKINSON COLLEGE state that the Jim Thorpe Center is intended to function as a living academic and community space, incorporating classrooms, gathering areas, research facilities, and a public gallery. The college’s program descriptions identify the center as part of a long-term institutional commitment, rather than a single initiative, with programming designed to evolve in collaboration with Indigenous communities.
Through the combination of a formally announced gift, a documented ground-blessing ceremony, established program materials, and maintained archival records, DICKINSON COLLEGE has placed the Jim Thorpe Center for the Futures of Native Peoples into active development. The project, as reflected in the college’s own records, connects historical accountability to present-day education and future-oriented Indigenous leadership, establishing a permanent institutional presence in Carlisle dedicated to those aims.
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Sources
Primary First-Hand Sources
• DICKINSON COLLEGE, official gift announcement establishing the Jim Thorpe Center for the Futures of Native Peoples
• DICKINSON COLLEGE, ground-blessing ceremony documentation for the Jim Thorpe Center
• DICKINSON COLLEGE, Center for the Futures of Native Peoples official program materials and mission statements
• DICKINSON COLLEGE ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center archival records
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